Engaged Society Score in New Zealand

New Zealand: Engaged Society Score was 2.16 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
2.16
Change on year
up 36.9%
World rank
20th
of 176 countries
All-time high
2.16
in 2025
All-time low
0.169
in 1853
Years of data
173
1853–2025

Engaged Society Score in New Zealand, 1853–2025

00.511.52185319392025

Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

New Zealand recorded 2.16 for engaged society score in 2025. That is the highest value across all 173 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 36.9% on the previous year and up 27.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, engaged society score in New Zealand peaked at 2.16 in 2025 and was at its lowest, 0.169, in 1853.

That places New Zealand 20th out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 173 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1850s 0.169 0.169 0.169 7
1860s 0.169 0.169 0.169 10
1870s 0.169 0.169 0.169 10
1880s 0.169 0.169 0.169 10
1890s 1.28 0.169 1.4 10
1900s 1.4 1.4 1.4 10
1910s 1.1 0.812 1.4 10
1920s 1.44 1.44 1.44 10
1930s 1.44 1.44 1.44 10
1940s 0.9852 0.736 1.36 10
1950s 1.17 1.09 1.36 10
1960s 1.36 1.36 1.36 10
1970s 1.36 1.07 1.64 10
1980s 1.08 0.853 1.12 10
1990s 1.26 1.12 1.35 10
2000s 1.69 1.68 1.7 10
2010s 1.68 1.58 1.7 10
2020s 1.67 1.58 2.16 6

Countries ranked near New Zealand

  1. 17 Senegal 2.21 compare
  2. 18 Italy 2.21 compare
  3. 19 Chile 2.2 compare
  4. 21 Costa Rica 2.16 compare
  5. 22 Poland 2.14 compare
  6. 23 Dominican Republic 2.07 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More reference data data for New Zealand

All data for New Zealand →

Frequently asked questions

What is engaged society score in New Zealand?
Engaged society score in New Zealand was 2.16 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest engaged society score recorded in New Zealand?
The highest recorded value was 2.16 in 2025.
What is the lowest engaged society score recorded in New Zealand?
The lowest recorded value was 0.169 in 1853.
How does New Zealand rank for engaged society score?
New Zealand ranks 20th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is engaged society score rising or falling in New Zealand?
Over the last ten years it is up 27.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this New Zealand data come from?
The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Engaged Society Score. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 173 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Engaged Society Score
Source
V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
176 places, 30,403 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed

Central estimate of the extent to which ordinary people independently discuss important policy changes among themselves, in the media, in associations or neighborhoods, or in the streets.