How does New Zealand rank for individual liberties and equality before the law index?

New Zealand ranks 13th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.

Is individual liberties and equality before the law index rising or falling in New Zealand?

Over the last ten years it is down 0.3%. 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 Individual Liberties and Equality before the Law Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Individual Liberties and Equality before the Law Index in New Zealand

Name: Individual Liberties and Equality before the Law Index in New Zealand
Creator: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

New Zealand: Individual Liberties and Equality before the Law Index was 0.972 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)

0.972

Change on year

unchanged

World rank

13th

of 176 countries

All-time high

0.98

in 1984

All-time low

0.911

in 1841

Years of data

185

1841–2025

Individual Liberties and Equality before the Law Index in New Zealand, 1841–2025

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

Analysis

New Zealand recorded 0.972 for individual liberties and equality before the law index in 2025.

That represents a change of down 0.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, individual liberties and equality before the law index in New Zealand peaked at 0.98 in 1984 and was at its lowest, 0.911, in 1841.

New Zealand ranks 13th of 176 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

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

Individual Liberties and Equality before the Law Index in New Zealand, year by year

Annual values for Individual Liberties and Equality before the Law Index in New Zealand, 1841 to 2025.
Year	Value	Change
1841	0.911	—
1842	0.911	+0.0%
1843	0.911	+0.0%
1844	0.911	+0.0%
1845	0.911	+0.0%
1846	0.911	+0.0%
1847	0.911	+0.0%
1848	0.911	+0.0%
1849	0.911	+0.0%
1850	0.911	+0.0%
1851	0.911	+0.0%
1852	0.911	+0.0%
1853	0.939	+3.1%
1854	0.939	+0.0%
1855	0.939	+0.0%
1856	0.939	+0.0%
1857	0.939	+0.0%
1858	0.939	+0.0%
1859	0.939	+0.0%
1860	0.939	+0.0%
1861	0.939	+0.0%
1862	0.939	+0.0%
1863	0.939	+0.0%
1864	0.939	+0.0%
1865	0.939	+0.0%
1866	0.939	+0.0%
1867	0.939	+0.0%
1868	0.939	+0.0%
1869	0.939	+0.0%
1870	0.939	+0.0%
1871	0.939	+0.0%
1872	0.939	+0.0%
1873	0.939	+0.0%
1874	0.939	+0.0%
1875	0.939	+0.0%
1876	0.939	+0.0%
1877	0.939	+0.0%
1878	0.939	+0.0%
1879	0.939	+0.0%
1880	0.939	+0.0%
1881	0.939	+0.0%
1882	0.939	+0.0%
1883	0.939	+0.0%
1884	0.955	+1.7%
1885	0.955	+0.0%
1886	0.955	+0.0%
1887	0.955	+0.0%
1888	0.955	+0.0%
1889	0.955	+0.0%
1890	0.955	+0.0%
1891	0.955	+0.0%
1892	0.955	+0.0%
1893	0.955	+0.0%
1894	0.955	+0.0%
1895	0.955	+0.0%
1896	0.955	+0.0%
1897	0.955	+0.0%
1898	0.955	+0.0%
1899	0.955	+0.0%
1900	0.955	+0.0%
1901	0.955	+0.0%
1902	0.955	+0.0%
1903	0.955	+0.0%
1904	0.955	+0.0%
1905	0.955	+0.0%
1906	0.955	+0.0%
1907	0.955	+0.0%
1908	0.955	+0.0%
1909	0.955	+0.0%
1910	0.955	+0.0%
1911	0.955	+0.0%
1912	0.955	+0.0%
1913	0.962	+0.7%
1914	0.957	-0.5%
1915	0.957	+0.0%
1916	0.957	+0.0%
1917	0.957	+0.0%
1918	0.957	+0.0%
1919	0.964	+0.7%
1920	0.966	+0.2%
1921	0.966	+0.0%
1922	0.966	+0.0%
1923	0.966	+0.0%
1924	0.966	+0.0%
1925	0.966	+0.0%
1926	0.966	+0.0%
1927	0.966	+0.0%
1928	0.966	+0.0%
1929	0.966	+0.0%
1930	0.966	+0.0%
1931	0.966	+0.0%
1932	0.966	+0.0%
1933	0.966	+0.0%
1934	0.966	+0.0%
1935	0.966	+0.0%
1936	0.966	+0.0%
1937	0.966	+0.0%
1938	0.966	+0.0%
1939	0.963	-0.3%
1940	0.963	+0.0%
1941	0.963	+0.0%
1942	0.963	+0.0%
1943	0.963	+0.0%
1944	0.963	+0.0%
1945	0.963	+0.0%
1946	0.963	+0.0%
1947	0.965	+0.2%
1948	0.965	+0.0%
1949	0.965	+0.0%
1950	0.965	+0.0%
1951	0.965	+0.0%
1952	0.965	+0.0%
1953	0.965	+0.0%
1954	0.965	+0.0%
1955	0.965	+0.0%
1956	0.965	+0.0%
1957	0.965	+0.0%
1958	0.965	+0.0%
1959	0.965	+0.0%
1960	0.965	+0.0%
1961	0.965	+0.0%
1962	0.965	+0.0%
1963	0.969	+0.4%
1964	0.969	+0.0%
1965	0.969	+0.0%
1966	0.969	+0.0%
1967	0.969	+0.0%
1968	0.969	+0.0%
1969	0.969	+0.0%
1970	0.969	+0.0%
1971	0.969	+0.0%
1972	0.971	+0.2%
1973	0.971	+0.0%
1974	0.971	+0.0%
1975	0.971	+0.0%
1976	0.971	+0.0%
1977	0.971	+0.0%
1978	0.971	+0.0%
1979	0.971	+0.0%
1980	0.978	+0.7%
1981	0.978	+0.0%
1982	0.978	+0.0%
1983	0.978	+0.0%
1984	0.98	+0.2%
1985	0.98	+0.0%
1986	0.98	+0.0%
1987	0.98	+0.0%
1988	0.98	+0.0%
1989	0.98	+0.0%
1990	0.975	-0.5%
1991	0.975	+0.0%
1992	0.975	+0.0%
1993	0.975	+0.0%
1994	0.975	+0.0%
1995	0.975	+0.0%
1996	0.975	+0.0%
1997	0.975	+0.0%
1998	0.975	+0.0%
1999	0.975	+0.0%
2000	0.975	+0.0%
2001	0.975	+0.0%
2002	0.975	+0.0%
2003	0.975	+0.0%
2004	0.975	+0.0%
2005	0.975	+0.0%
2006	0.975	+0.0%
2007	0.975	+0.0%
2008	0.975	+0.0%
2009	0.975	+0.0%
2010	0.975	+0.0%
2011	0.975	+0.0%
2012	0.975	+0.0%
2013	0.975	+0.0%
2014	0.975	+0.0%
2015	0.975	+0.0%
2016	0.975	+0.0%
2017	0.975	+0.0%
2018	0.972	-0.3%
2019	0.975	+0.3%
2020	0.966	-0.9%
2021	0.958	-0.8%
2022	0.973	+1.6%
2023	0.974	+0.1%
2024	0.972	-0.2%
2025	0.972	+0.0%

New Zealand compared with similar countries

New Zealand's 0.972 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.932, 1.0× the median. (55 countries reporting)
New Zealand's 0.972 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.7075, 1.4× the median. (22 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1840s	0.911	0.911	0.911	9
1850s	0.9306	0.911	0.939	10
1860s	0.939	0.939	0.939	10
1870s	0.939	0.939	0.939	10
1880s	0.9486	0.939	0.955	10
1890s	0.955	0.955	0.955	10
1900s	0.955	0.955	0.955	10
1910s	0.9576	0.955	0.964	10
1920s	0.966	0.966	0.966	10
1930s	0.9657	0.963	0.966	10
1940s	0.9636	0.963	0.965	10
1950s	0.965	0.965	0.965	10
1960s	0.9678	0.965	0.969	10
1970s	0.9706	0.969	0.971	10
1980s	0.9792	0.978	0.98	10
1990s	0.975	0.975	0.975	10
2000s	0.975	0.975	0.975	10
2010s	0.9747	0.972	0.975	10
2020s	0.9692	0.958	0.974	6

Countries ranked near New Zealand

10 Belgium 0.974 compare
10 Iceland 0.974 compare
10 Latvia 0.974 compare
13 Norway 0.972 compare
15 Spain 0.971 compare
16 Seychelles 0.966 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More reference data data for New Zealand

Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.4532 (2050)
Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 9.92 (2050)
Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 10.93 (2050)
Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0459 (2050)
Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 10.93 (2050)
Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.52 (2050)
Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.53 (2050)
Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 42.17 (2050)
Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 47.53 (2050)
Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.2499 (2050)

All data for New Zealand →

Frequently asked questions

What is individual liberties and equality before the law index in New Zealand?: Individual liberties and equality before the law index in New Zealand was 0.972 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest individual liberties and equality before the law index recorded in New Zealand?: The highest recorded value was 0.98 in 1984.
What is the lowest individual liberties and equality before the law index recorded in New Zealand?: The lowest recorded value was 0.911 in 1841.
How does New Zealand rank for individual liberties and equality before the law index?: New Zealand ranks 13th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is individual liberties and equality before the law index rising or falling in New Zealand?: Over the last ten years it is down 0.3%. 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 Individual Liberties and Equality before the Law Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Individual Liberties and Equality before the Law Index in New Zealand. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 09 November 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/individual-liberties-and-equality-before-the-law-index/new-zealand/

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About this data

Indicator: Individual Liberties and Equality before the Law Index
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 176 places, 30,494 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed: 30 October 2026

Central estimate of the extent to which extent to which citizens enjoy physical integrity rights, freedoms of religion, of movement, and from forced labor, as well as access to justice, laws are transparent, and public administration is impartial.