New Zealand vs South Africa: Democracy
New Zealand
2
in 2018
South Africa
2
in 2018
New Zealand rank
1st
South Africa rank
1st
Democracy over time
- New Zealand
- South Africa
How they compare
New Zealand currently reports 2 against 2 in South Africa, a difference of 0.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 109 shared years of data; in 1910 it was New Zealand ahead.
New Zealand ranks 1st and South Africa ranks 1st of 168 countries.
New Zealand has averaged higher in every one of the 11 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | New Zealand | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 2 | 1 | 1 | New Zealand |
| 1920s | 2 | 1 | 1 | New Zealand |
| 1930s | 2 | 1 | 1 | New Zealand |
| 1940s | 2 | 1 | 1 | New Zealand |
| 1950s | 2 | 1 | 1 | New Zealand |
| 1960s | 2 | 1 | 1 | New Zealand |
| 1970s | 2 | 1 | 1 | New Zealand |
| 1980s | 2 | 1 | 1 | New Zealand |
| 1990s | 2 | 1.8 | 0.2 | New Zealand |
| 2000s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 2010s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher democracy, New Zealand or South Africa?
- New Zealand, at 2 against 2 in South Africa as of 2018.
- What is the difference in democracy between New Zealand and South Africa?
- 0, with New Zealand ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for New Zealand and South Africa?
- 109 years are reported by both, from 1910 to 2018.
- How do New Zealand and South Africa rank globally for democracy?
- New Zealand ranks 1st and South Africa ranks 1st of 168 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Democracy. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Identifies the political regime of a country using the Polity 5 data by the Center for Systemic Peace. It distinguishes between autocracies (score 0), anocracies (score 1), and democracies (score 2).