Statizoid

Free and fair elections index in New Zealand

New Zealand: Free and fair elections index was 0.954 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
0.954
Change on year
down 0.5%
World rank
9th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.969
in 2010
All-time low
0
in 1841
Years of data
185
1841–2025

Free and fair elections index in New Zealand, 1841–2025

00.20.40.60.81184119332025

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

The most recent figure for free and fair elections index in New Zealand is 0.954, measured in 2025.

That represents a change of down 0.5% on the previous year and down 1.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, free and fair elections index in New Zealand peaked at 0.969 in 2010 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1841.

That places New Zealand 9th out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 185 years of available data.

Free and fair elections index in New Zealand, year by year

Year Value Change
1841 0 —
1842 0 —
1843 0 —
1844 0 —
1845 0 —
1846 0 —
1847 0 —
1848 0 —
1849 0 —
1850 0 —
1851 0 —
1852 0 —
1853 0.367 —
1854 0.784 +113.6%
1855 0.783 -0.1%
1856 0.777 -0.8%
1857 0.777 +0.0%
1858 0.777 +0.0%
1859 0.777 +0.0%
1860 0.778 +0.1%
1861 0.804 +3.3%
1862 0.804 +0.0%
1863 0.804 +0.0%
1864 0.804 +0.0%
1865 0.804 +0.0%
1866 0.797 -0.9%
1867 0.796 -0.1%
1868 0.8 +0.5%
1869 0.801 +0.1%
1870 0.801 +0.0%
1871 0.863 +7.7%
1872 0.865 +0.2%
1873 0.865 +0.0%
1874 0.865 +0.0%
1875 0.865 +0.0%
1876 0.862 -0.3%
1877 0.862 +0.0%
1878 0.862 +0.0%
1879 0.863 +0.1%
1880 0.863 +0.0%
1881 0.864 +0.1%
1882 0.865 +0.1%
1883 0.865 +0.0%
1884 0.864 -0.1%
1885 0.862 -0.2%
1886 0.862 +0.0%
1887 0.863 +0.1%
1888 0.867 +0.5%
1889 0.857 -1.2%
1890 0.857 +0.0%
1891 0.858 +0.1%
1892 0.858 +0.0%
1893 0.858 +0.0%
1894 0.858 +0.0%
1895 0.858 +0.0%
1896 0.859 +0.1%
1897 0.876 +2.0%
1898 0.876 +0.0%
1899 0.876 +0.0%
1900 0.874 -0.2%
1901 0.874 +0.0%
1902 0.874 +0.0%
1903 0.874 +0.0%
1904 0.874 +0.0%
1905 0.875 +0.1%
1906 0.881 +0.7%
1907 0.881 +0.0%
1908 0.88 -0.1%
1909 0.879 -0.1%
1910 0.879 +0.0%
1911 0.88 +0.1%
1912 0.898 +2.0%
1913 0.898 +0.0%
1914 0.898 +0.0%
1915 0.901 +0.3%
1916 0.901 +0.0%
1917 0.901 +0.0%
1918 0.901 +0.0%
1919 0.901 +0.0%
1920 0.9 -0.1%
1921 0.9 +0.0%
1922 0.901 +0.1%
1923 0.907 +0.7%
1924 0.907 +0.0%
1925 0.906 -0.1%
1926 0.901 -0.6%
1927 0.901 +0.0%
1928 0.902 +0.1%
1929 0.908 +0.7%
1930 0.908 +0.0%
1931 0.907 -0.1%
1932 0.904 -0.3%
1933 0.904 +0.0%
1934 0.904 +0.0%
1935 0.909 +0.6%
1936 0.909 +0.0%
1937 0.909 +0.0%
1938 0.909 +0.0%
1939 0.912 +0.3%
1940 0.912 +0.0%
1941 0.912 +0.0%
1942 0.912 +0.0%
1943 0.912 +0.0%
1944 0.912 +0.0%
1945 0.912 +0.0%
1946 0.912 +0.0%
1947 0.912 +0.0%
1948 0.912 +0.0%
1949 0.912 +0.0%
1950 0.913 +0.1%
1951 0.904 -1.0%
1952 0.886 -2.0%
1953 0.886 +0.0%
1954 0.889 +0.3%
1955 0.91 +2.4%
1956 0.91 +0.0%
1957 0.91 +0.0%
1958 0.917 +0.8%
1959 0.917 +0.0%
1960 0.917 +0.0%
1961 0.921 +0.4%
1962 0.921 +0.0%
1963 0.921 +0.0%
1964 0.921 +0.0%
1965 0.921 +0.0%
1966 0.921 +0.0%
1967 0.919 -0.2%
1968 0.919 +0.0%
1969 0.919 +0.0%
1970 0.92 +0.1%
1971 0.92 +0.0%
1972 0.92 +0.0%
1973 0.921 +0.1%
1974 0.921 +0.0%
1975 0.921 +0.0%
1976 0.92 -0.1%
1977 0.92 +0.0%
1978 0.92 +0.0%
1979 0.911 -1.0%
1980 0.911 +0.0%
1981 0.912 +0.1%
1982 0.92 +0.9%
1983 0.92 +0.0%
1984 0.92 +0.0%
1985 0.919 -0.1%
1986 0.919 +0.0%
1987 0.92 +0.1%
1988 0.92 +0.0%
1989 0.92 +0.0%
1990 0.928 +0.9%
1991 0.925 -0.3%
1992 0.925 +0.0%
1993 0.937 +1.3%
1994 0.936 -0.1%
1995 0.936 +0.0%
1996 0.947 +1.2%
1997 0.946 -0.1%
1998 0.946 +0.0%
1999 0.947 +0.1%
2000 0.949 +0.2%
2001 0.949 +0.0%
2002 0.948 -0.1%
2003 0.946 -0.2%
2004 0.946 +0.0%
2005 0.945 -0.1%
2006 0.942 -0.3%
2007 0.942 +0.0%
2008 0.946 +0.4%
2009 0.965 +2.0%
2010 0.969 +0.4%
2011 0.969 +0.0%
2012 0.968 -0.1%
2013 0.968 +0.0%
2014 0.968 +0.0%
2015 0.967 -0.1%
2016 0.967 +0.0%
2017 0.967 +0.0%
2018 0.966 -0.1%
2019 0.966 +0.0%
2020 0.966 +0.0%
2021 0.965 -0.1%
2022 0.965 +0.0%
2023 0.96 -0.5%
2024 0.959 -0.1%
2025 0.954 -0.5%

New Zealand compared with similar countries

  • New Zealand's 0.954 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.929, 1.0× the median. (55 countries reporting)
  • New Zealand's 0.954 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.5335, 1.8× the median. (22 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1840s 0 0 0 9
1850s 0.5042 0 0.784 10
1860s 0.7992 0.778 0.804 10
1870s 0.8573 0.801 0.865 10
1880s 0.8632 0.857 0.867 10
1890s 0.8634 0.857 0.876 10
1900s 0.8766 0.874 0.881 10
1910s 0.8958 0.879 0.901 10
1920s 0.9033 0.9 0.908 10
1930s 0.9075 0.904 0.912 10
1940s 0.912 0.912 0.912 10
1950s 0.9042 0.886 0.917 10
1960s 0.92 0.917 0.921 10
1970s 0.9194 0.911 0.921 10
1980s 0.9181 0.911 0.92 10
1990s 0.9373 0.925 0.947 10
2000s 0.9478 0.942 0.965 10
2010s 0.9675 0.966 0.969 10
2020s 0.9615 0.954 0.966 6

Countries ranked near New Zealand

  1. 6 Germany 0.957 compare
  2. 7 Chile 0.956 compare
  3. 7 Spain 0.956 compare
  4. 9 Netherlands 0.954 compare
  5. 11 Estonia 0.952 compare
  6. 12 Uruguay 0.947 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 free and fair elections index in New Zealand?
Free and fair elections index in New Zealand was 0.954 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest free and fair elections index recorded in New Zealand?
The highest recorded value was 0.969 in 2010.
What is the lowest free and fair elections index recorded in New Zealand?
The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1841.
How does New Zealand rank for free and fair elections index?
New Zealand ranks 9th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is free and fair elections index rising or falling in New Zealand?
Over the last ten years it is down 1.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this New Zealand data come from?
The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Free and fair elections index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Free and fair elections index in New Zealand. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 15 November 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/free-and-fair-elections-index/new-zealand/

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About this data

Indicator
Free and fair elections index
Source
Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
176 places, 30,402 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed