Statizoid

Legislative Checks on Government Index in New Zealand

New Zealand: Legislative Checks on Government Index was 0.884 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
0.884
Change on year
down 3.4%
World rank
33rd
of 174 countries
All-time high
0.915
in 1997
All-time low
0.783
in 1853
Years of data
173
1853–2025

Legislative Checks on Government Index in New Zealand, 1853–2025

00.20.40.60.81185319392025

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

Analysis

New Zealand recorded 0.884 for legislative checks on government index in 2025.

That represents a change of down 3.4% on the previous year and down 3.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, legislative checks on government index in New Zealand peaked at 0.915 in 1997 and was at its lowest, 0.783, in 1853.

That places New Zealand 33rd out of 174 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.

Legislative Checks on Government Index in New Zealand, year by year

Year Value Change
1853 0.783 —
1854 0.783 +0.0%
1855 0.783 +0.0%
1856 0.783 +0.0%
1857 0.783 +0.0%
1858 0.783 +0.0%
1859 0.783 +0.0%
1860 0.783 +0.0%
1861 0.783 +0.0%
1862 0.783 +0.0%
1863 0.783 +0.0%
1864 0.783 +0.0%
1865 0.783 +0.0%
1866 0.783 +0.0%
1867 0.783 +0.0%
1868 0.783 +0.0%
1869 0.783 +0.0%
1870 0.783 +0.0%
1871 0.783 +0.0%
1872 0.783 +0.0%
1873 0.783 +0.0%
1874 0.783 +0.0%
1875 0.783 +0.0%
1876 0.783 +0.0%
1877 0.783 +0.0%
1878 0.783 +0.0%
1879 0.783 +0.0%
1880 0.783 +0.0%
1881 0.783 +0.0%
1882 0.783 +0.0%
1883 0.783 +0.0%
1884 0.783 +0.0%
1885 0.783 +0.0%
1886 0.783 +0.0%
1887 0.787 +0.5%
1888 0.787 +0.0%
1889 0.787 +0.0%
1890 0.787 +0.0%
1891 0.787 +0.0%
1892 0.787 +0.0%
1893 0.787 +0.0%
1894 0.787 +0.0%
1895 0.787 +0.0%
1896 0.787 +0.0%
1897 0.787 +0.0%
1898 0.787 +0.0%
1899 0.787 +0.0%
1900 0.787 +0.0%
1901 0.787 +0.0%
1902 0.787 +0.0%
1903 0.787 +0.0%
1904 0.787 +0.0%
1905 0.787 +0.0%
1906 0.787 +0.0%
1907 0.787 +0.0%
1908 0.787 +0.0%
1909 0.787 +0.0%
1910 0.787 +0.0%
1911 0.787 +0.0%
1912 0.787 +0.0%
1913 0.787 +0.0%
1914 0.787 +0.0%
1915 0.787 +0.0%
1916 0.787 +0.0%
1917 0.787 +0.0%
1918 0.787 +0.0%
1919 0.787 +0.0%
1920 0.787 +0.0%
1921 0.787 +0.0%
1922 0.787 +0.0%
1923 0.787 +0.0%
1924 0.787 +0.0%
1925 0.787 +0.0%
1926 0.787 +0.0%
1927 0.787 +0.0%
1928 0.787 +0.0%
1929 0.787 +0.0%
1930 0.787 +0.0%
1931 0.787 +0.0%
1932 0.787 +0.0%
1933 0.787 +0.0%
1934 0.787 +0.0%
1935 0.787 +0.0%
1936 0.787 +0.0%
1937 0.787 +0.0%
1938 0.787 +0.0%
1939 0.787 +0.0%
1940 0.787 +0.0%
1941 0.787 +0.0%
1942 0.787 +0.0%
1943 0.787 +0.0%
1944 0.787 +0.0%
1945 0.787 +0.0%
1946 0.787 +0.0%
1947 0.787 +0.0%
1948 0.787 +0.0%
1949 0.787 +0.0%
1950 0.787 +0.0%
1951 0.787 +0.0%
1952 0.787 +0.0%
1953 0.787 +0.0%
1954 0.787 +0.0%
1955 0.787 +0.0%
1956 0.787 +0.0%
1957 0.787 +0.0%
1958 0.787 +0.0%
1959 0.787 +0.0%
1960 0.823 +4.6%
1961 0.823 +0.0%
1962 0.847 +2.9%
1963 0.875 +3.3%
1964 0.875 +0.0%
1965 0.875 +0.0%
1966 0.875 +0.0%
1967 0.875 +0.0%
1968 0.875 +0.0%
1969 0.875 +0.0%
1970 0.875 +0.0%
1971 0.875 +0.0%
1972 0.875 +0.0%
1973 0.875 +0.0%
1974 0.875 +0.0%
1975 0.875 +0.0%
1976 0.875 +0.0%
1977 0.875 +0.0%
1978 0.875 +0.0%
1979 0.875 +0.0%
1980 0.875 +0.0%
1981 0.875 +0.0%
1982 0.875 +0.0%
1983 0.875 +0.0%
1984 0.875 +0.0%
1985 0.893 +2.1%
1986 0.893 +0.0%
1987 0.893 +0.0%
1988 0.893 +0.0%
1989 0.893 +0.0%
1990 0.893 +0.0%
1991 0.893 +0.0%
1992 0.893 +0.0%
1993 0.893 +0.0%
1994 0.893 +0.0%
1995 0.893 +0.0%
1996 0.893 +0.0%
1997 0.915 +2.5%
1998 0.915 +0.0%
1999 0.915 +0.0%
2000 0.915 +0.0%
2001 0.915 +0.0%
2002 0.915 +0.0%
2003 0.915 +0.0%
2004 0.915 +0.0%
2005 0.915 +0.0%
2006 0.915 +0.0%
2007 0.915 +0.0%
2008 0.915 +0.0%
2009 0.915 +0.0%
2010 0.915 +0.0%
2011 0.915 +0.0%
2012 0.915 +0.0%
2013 0.915 +0.0%
2014 0.915 +0.0%
2015 0.915 +0.0%
2016 0.915 +0.0%
2017 0.915 +0.0%
2018 0.915 +0.0%
2019 0.915 +0.0%
2020 0.915 +0.0%
2021 0.915 +0.0%
2022 0.915 +0.0%
2023 0.915 +0.0%
2024 0.915 +0.0%
2025 0.884 -3.4%

New Zealand compared with similar countries

  • New Zealand's 0.884 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.871, 1.0× the median. (55 countries reporting)
  • New Zealand's 0.884 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.653, 1.4× the median. (22 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1850s 0.783 0.783 0.783 7
1860s 0.783 0.783 0.783 10
1870s 0.783 0.783 0.783 10
1880s 0.7842 0.783 0.787 10
1890s 0.787 0.787 0.787 10
1900s 0.787 0.787 0.787 10
1910s 0.787 0.787 0.787 10
1920s 0.787 0.787 0.787 10
1930s 0.787 0.787 0.787 10
1940s 0.787 0.787 0.787 10
1950s 0.787 0.787 0.787 10
1960s 0.8618 0.823 0.875 10
1970s 0.875 0.875 0.875 10
1980s 0.884 0.875 0.893 10
1990s 0.8996 0.893 0.915 10
2000s 0.915 0.915 0.915 10
2010s 0.915 0.915 0.915 10
2020s 0.9098 0.884 0.915 6

Countries ranked near New Zealand

  1. 30 Belgium 0.889 compare
  2. 31 Ireland 0.888 compare
  3. 32 Guatemala 0.885 compare
  4. 34 Ghana 0.878 compare
  5. 35 Israel 0.876 compare
  6. 36 Croatia 0.871 compare
  7. 36 Slovenia 0.871 compare

See the full ranking of 174 places →

More reference data data for New Zealand

All data for New Zealand →

Frequently asked questions

What is legislative checks on government index in New Zealand?
Legislative checks on government index in New Zealand was 0.884 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest legislative checks on government index recorded in New Zealand?
The highest recorded value was 0.915 in 1997.
What is the lowest legislative checks on government index recorded in New Zealand?
The lowest recorded value was 0.783 in 1853.
How does New Zealand rank for legislative checks on government index?
New Zealand ranks 33rd out of 174 countries with data for 2025.
Is legislative checks on government index rising or falling in New Zealand?
Over the last ten years it is down 3.4%. 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 Legislative Checks on Government Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Legislative Checks on Government Index in New Zealand. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 28 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/legislative-constraints-on-the-executive-index/new-zealand/

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About this data

Indicator
Legislative Checks on Government Index
Source
V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
174 places, 23,601 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed

Central estimate of the extent to which the legislature, including opposition parties, questions executive officials and oversees and investigates the executive.