Papua New Guinea vs South Africa: Political Civil Liberties Index
Papua New Guinea
0.889
in 2025
South Africa
0.884
in 2025
Papua New Guinea rank
46th
South Africa rank
48th
Political Civil Liberties Index over time
- Papua New Guinea
- South Africa
How they compare
Papua New Guinea currently reports 0.889 against 0.884 in South Africa, a difference of 0.005.
The two have swapped places 5 times across 126 shared years of data; in 1900 it was South Africa ahead.
Papua New Guinea ranks 46th and South Africa ranks 48th of 176 countries.
Across the 13 decades both report, Papua New Guinea averaged higher in 6 and South Africa in 7.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Papua New Guinea | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.353 | 0.387 | 0.034 | South Africa |
| 1910s | 0.347 | 0.408 | 0.061 | South Africa |
| 1920s | 0.341 | 0.408 | 0.067 | South Africa |
| 1930s | 0.341 | 0.408 | 0.067 | South Africa |
| 1940s | 0.401 | 0.3811 | 0.0199 | Papua New Guinea |
| 1950s | 0.507 | 0.277 | 0.23 | Papua New Guinea |
| 1960s | 0.644 | 0.2347 | 0.4093 | Papua New Guinea |
| 1970s | 0.7836 | 0.2189 | 0.5647 | Papua New Guinea |
| 1980s | 0.8635 | 0.2024 | 0.6611 | Papua New Guinea |
| 1990s | 0.868 | 0.7387 | 0.1293 | Papua New Guinea |
| 2000s | 0.868 | 0.9197 | 0.0517 | South Africa |
| 2010s | 0.8559 | 0.8953 | 0.0394 | South Africa |
| 2020s | 0.8847 | 0.8848 | 0.0002 | South Africa |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher political civil liberties index, Papua New Guinea or South Africa?
- Papua New Guinea, at 0.889 against 0.884 in South Africa as of 2025.
- What is the difference in political civil liberties index between Papua New Guinea and South Africa?
- 0.005, with Papua New Guinea ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Papua New Guinea and South Africa?
- 126 years are reported by both, from 1900 to 2025.
- How do Papua New Guinea and South Africa rank globally for political civil liberties index?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 46th and South Africa ranks 48th of 176 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- V-Dem (2026) β processed by Our World in Data, published as Political Civil Liberties Index. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Central estimate of the extent to which people enjoy the freedoms of expression and association.