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Political civil liberties index in New Zealand

New Zealand: Political civil liberties index was 0.929 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
0.929
Change on year
down 1.2%
World rank
20th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.964
in 1985
All-time low
0.864
in 1853
Years of data
173
1853–2025

Political civil liberties index in New Zealand, 1853–2025

00.20.40.60.81185319392025

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

The most recent figure for political civil liberties index in New Zealand is 0.929, measured in 2025.

The figure is down 1.2% on the previous year and down 3.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, political civil liberties index in New Zealand peaked at 0.964 in 1985 and was at its lowest, 0.864, 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.

Political civil liberties index in New Zealand, year by year

Year Value Change
1853 0.864 —
1854 0.864 +0.0%
1855 0.864 +0.0%
1856 0.864 +0.0%
1857 0.864 +0.0%
1858 0.864 +0.0%
1859 0.864 +0.0%
1860 0.864 +0.0%
1861 0.89 +3.0%
1862 0.9 +1.1%
1863 0.9 +0.0%
1864 0.9 +0.0%
1865 0.9 +0.0%
1866 0.9 +0.0%
1867 0.9 +0.0%
1868 0.9 +0.0%
1869 0.9 +0.0%
1870 0.9 +0.0%
1871 0.9 +0.0%
1872 0.9 +0.0%
1873 0.9 +0.0%
1874 0.9 +0.0%
1875 0.9 +0.0%
1876 0.9 +0.0%
1877 0.9 +0.0%
1878 0.9 +0.0%
1879 0.9 +0.0%
1880 0.9 +0.0%
1881 0.9 +0.0%
1882 0.9 +0.0%
1883 0.9 +0.0%
1884 0.9 +0.0%
1885 0.9 +0.0%
1886 0.9 +0.0%
1887 0.9 +0.0%
1888 0.9 +0.0%
1889 0.9 +0.0%
1890 0.884 -1.8%
1891 0.905 +2.4%
1892 0.905 +0.0%
1893 0.905 +0.0%
1894 0.905 +0.0%
1895 0.905 +0.0%
1896 0.905 +0.0%
1897 0.905 +0.0%
1898 0.905 +0.0%
1899 0.905 +0.0%
1900 0.915 +1.1%
1901 0.929 +1.5%
1902 0.929 +0.0%
1903 0.929 +0.0%
1904 0.929 +0.0%
1905 0.929 +0.0%
1906 0.929 +0.0%
1907 0.929 +0.0%
1908 0.929 +0.0%
1909 0.929 +0.0%
1910 0.929 +0.0%
1911 0.929 +0.0%
1912 0.899 -3.2%
1913 0.899 +0.0%
1914 0.882 -1.9%
1915 0.873 -1.0%
1916 0.879 +0.7%
1917 0.871 -0.9%
1918 0.871 +0.0%
1919 0.911 +4.6%
1920 0.921 +1.1%
1921 0.918 -0.3%
1922 0.922 +0.4%
1923 0.922 +0.0%
1924 0.922 +0.0%
1925 0.922 +0.0%
1926 0.922 +0.0%
1927 0.922 +0.0%
1928 0.922 +0.0%
1929 0.922 +0.0%
1930 0.928 +0.7%
1931 0.928 +0.0%
1932 0.916 -1.3%
1933 0.928 +1.3%
1934 0.928 +0.0%
1935 0.914 -1.5%
1936 0.903 -1.2%
1937 0.903 +0.0%
1938 0.903 +0.0%
1939 0.887 -1.8%
1940 0.873 -1.6%
1941 0.873 +0.0%
1942 0.873 +0.0%
1943 0.873 +0.0%
1944 0.873 +0.0%
1945 0.873 +0.0%
1946 0.908 +4.0%
1947 0.912 +0.4%
1948 0.912 +0.0%
1949 0.912 +0.0%
1950 0.912 +0.0%
1951 0.871 -4.5%
1952 0.91 +4.5%
1953 0.91 +0.0%
1954 0.914 +0.4%
1955 0.921 +0.8%
1956 0.921 +0.0%
1957 0.921 +0.0%
1958 0.921 +0.0%
1959 0.921 +0.0%
1960 0.937 +1.7%
1961 0.937 +0.0%
1962 0.939 +0.2%
1963 0.943 +0.4%
1964 0.943 +0.0%
1965 0.943 +0.0%
1966 0.943 +0.0%
1967 0.943 +0.0%
1968 0.943 +0.0%
1969 0.943 +0.0%
1970 0.946 +0.3%
1971 0.946 +0.0%
1972 0.946 +0.0%
1973 0.946 +0.0%
1974 0.946 +0.0%
1975 0.946 +0.0%
1976 0.946 +0.0%
1977 0.94 -0.6%
1978 0.94 +0.0%
1979 0.94 +0.0%
1980 0.948 +0.9%
1981 0.943 -0.5%
1982 0.941 -0.2%
1983 0.944 +0.3%
1984 0.959 +1.6%
1985 0.964 +0.5%
1986 0.964 +0.0%
1987 0.964 +0.0%
1988 0.964 +0.0%
1989 0.964 +0.0%
1990 0.964 +0.0%
1991 0.964 +0.0%
1992 0.964 +0.0%
1993 0.964 +0.0%
1994 0.964 +0.0%
1995 0.964 +0.0%
1996 0.964 +0.0%
1997 0.964 +0.0%
1998 0.964 +0.0%
1999 0.964 +0.0%
2000 0.964 +0.0%
2001 0.964 +0.0%
2002 0.964 +0.0%
2003 0.964 +0.0%
2004 0.964 +0.0%
2005 0.964 +0.0%
2006 0.964 +0.0%
2007 0.964 +0.0%
2008 0.964 +0.0%
2009 0.964 +0.0%
2010 0.962 -0.2%
2011 0.962 +0.0%
2012 0.962 +0.0%
2013 0.958 -0.4%
2014 0.958 +0.0%
2015 0.958 +0.0%
2016 0.958 +0.0%
2017 0.957 -0.1%
2018 0.961 +0.4%
2019 0.958 -0.3%
2020 0.958 +0.0%
2021 0.946 -1.3%
2022 0.953 +0.7%
2023 0.949 -0.4%
2024 0.94 -0.9%
2025 0.929 -1.2%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1850s 0.864 0.864 0.864 7
1860s 0.8954 0.864 0.9 10
1870s 0.9 0.9 0.9 10
1880s 0.9 0.9 0.9 10
1890s 0.9029 0.884 0.905 10
1900s 0.9276 0.915 0.929 10
1910s 0.8943 0.871 0.929 10
1920s 0.9215 0.918 0.922 10
1930s 0.9138 0.887 0.928 10
1940s 0.8882 0.873 0.912 10
1950s 0.9122 0.871 0.921 10
1960s 0.9414 0.937 0.943 10
1970s 0.9442 0.94 0.946 10
1980s 0.9555 0.941 0.964 10
1990s 0.964 0.964 0.964 10
2000s 0.964 0.964 0.964 10
2010s 0.9594 0.957 0.962 10
2020s 0.9458 0.929 0.958 6

Countries ranked near New Zealand

  1. 17 Costa Rica 0.931 compare
  2. 18 Iceland 0.93 compare
  3. 18 Poland 0.93 compare
  4. 21 Austria 0.926 compare
  5. 22 Spain 0.925 compare
  6. 23 Barbados 0.922 compare
  7. 23 Canada 0.922 compare
  8. 23 Dominican Republic 0.922 compare
  9. 23 Ghana 0.922 compare
  10. 23 Mauritius 0.922 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 political civil liberties index in New Zealand?
Political civil liberties index in New Zealand was 0.929 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest political civil liberties index recorded in New Zealand?
The highest recorded value was 0.964 in 1985.
What is the lowest political civil liberties index recorded in New Zealand?
The lowest recorded value was 0.864 in 1853.
How does New Zealand rank for political civil liberties index?
New Zealand ranks 20th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is political civil liberties index rising or falling in New Zealand?
Over the last ten years it is down 3.0%. 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 Political civil liberties index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Political civil liberties index in New Zealand. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 25 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/political-civil-liberties-index/new-zealand/

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About this data

Indicator
Political civil liberties index
Source
Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
176 places, 30,211 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed