Statizoid

Democracy in New Zealand

New Zealand: Democracy was 7 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
7
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
1st
of 197 countries
All-time high
7
in 1893
All-time low
0
in 1841
Years of data
185
1841–2025

Democracy in New Zealand, 1841–2025

02468184119332025

Source: Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

The most recent figure for democracy in New Zealand is 7, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 185 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, democracy in New Zealand peaked at 7 in 1893 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1841.

New Zealand ranks 1st of 197 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1840s 0 0 0 9
1850s 1.4 0 2 10
1860s 3 2 4 10
1870s 4.1 4 5 10
1880s 5 5 5 10
1890s 6.4 5 7 10
1900s 7 7 7 10
1910s 6.5 6 7 10
1920s 7 7 7 10
1930s 7 7 7 10
1940s 6.4 6 7 10
1950s 7 7 7 10
1960s 7 7 7 10
1970s 7 7 7 10
1980s 7 7 7 10
1990s 7 7 7 10
2000s 7 7 7 10
2010s 7 7 7 10
2020s 7 7 7 6

Countries ranked near New Zealand

  1. 1 Andorra 7 compare
  2. 1 Antigua and Barbuda 7 compare
  3. 1 Argentina 7 compare
  4. 1 Australia 7 compare
  5. 1 Austria 7 compare
  6. 1 Bahamas 7 compare
  7. 1 Barbados 7 compare
  8. 1 Belgium 7 compare
  9. 1 Belize 7 compare
  10. 1 Brazil 7 compare
  11. 1 Bulgaria 7 compare
  12. 1 Canada 7 compare
  13. 1 Cape Verde 7 compare
  14. 1 Chile 7 compare
  15. 1 Costa Rica 7 compare
  16. 1 Croatia 7 compare
  17. 1 Cyprus 7 compare
  18. 1 Czechia 7 compare
  19. 1 Denmark 7 compare
  20. 1 Dominica 7 compare
  21. 1 Dominican Republic 7 compare
  22. 1 Estonia 7 compare
  23. 1 Fiji 7 compare
  24. 1 Finland 7 compare
  25. 1 France 7 compare
  26. 1 Germany 7 compare
  27. 1 Ghana 7 compare
  28. 1 Greece 7 compare
  29. 1 Grenada 7 compare
  30. 1 Guyana 7 compare
  31. 1 Iceland 7 compare
  32. 1 Ireland 7 compare
  33. 1 Italy 7 compare
  34. 1 Jamaica 7 compare
  35. 1 Japan 7 compare
  36. 1 Kiribati 7 compare
  37. 1 Latvia 7 compare
  38. 1 Lithuania 7 compare
  39. 1 Luxembourg 7 compare
  40. 1 Malta 7 compare
  41. 1 Marshall Islands 7 compare
  42. 1 Mauritius 7 compare
  43. 1 Micronesia (country) 7 compare
  44. 1 Mongolia 7 compare
  45. 1 Namibia 7 compare
  46. 1 Nauru 7 compare
  47. 1 Netherlands 7 compare
  48. 1 Norway 7 compare
  49. 1 Palau 7 compare
  50. 1 Panama 7 compare
  51. 1 Papua New Guinea 7 compare
  52. 1 Poland 7 compare
  53. 1 Portugal 7 compare
  54. 1 Romania 7 compare
  55. 1 Saint Kitts and Nevis 7 compare
  56. 1 Saint Lucia 7 compare
  57. 1 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 7 compare
  58. 1 Samoa 7 compare
  59. 1 San Marino 7 compare
  60. 1 Sao Tome and Principe 7 compare
  61. 1 Seychelles 7 compare
  62. 1 Slovenia 7 compare
  63. 1 South Africa 7 compare
  64. 1 South Korea 7 compare
  65. 1 Spain 7 compare
  66. 1 Suriname 7 compare
  67. 1 Sweden 7 compare
  68. 1 Switzerland 7 compare
  69. 1 Taiwan 7 compare
  70. 1 Tonga 7 compare
  71. 1 Trinidad and Tobago 7 compare
  72. 1 Tuvalu 7 compare
  73. 1 United Kingdom 7 compare
  74. 1 United States 7 compare
  75. 1 Uruguay 7 compare
  76. 1 Vanuatu 7 compare

See the full ranking of 198 places →

More reference data data for New Zealand

All data for New Zealand →

Frequently asked questions

What is democracy in New Zealand?
Democracy in New Zealand was 7 in 2025, according to Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest democracy recorded in New Zealand?
The highest recorded value was 7 in 1893.
What is the lowest democracy recorded in New Zealand?
The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1841.
How does New Zealand rank for democracy?
New Zealand ranks 1st out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
Is democracy rising or falling in New Zealand?
Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this New Zealand data come from?
The figures come from Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 185 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Democracy
Source
Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
198 places, 32,485 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed

Identifies the political regime of a country. It distinguishes between non-electoral autocracies (score 0), one-party autocracies (score 1), multi-party autocracies without elected executive (score 2), multi-party autocracies (score 3), exclusive democracies (score 4), male democracies (score 5), electoral democracies (score 6), and full democracies (score 7).