Democracy in New Zealand
New Zealand: Democracy was 3 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Democracy in New Zealand, 1853–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
New Zealand recorded 3 for democracy in 2025. That is the highest value across all 153 years on record.
The figure is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, democracy in New Zealand peaked at 3 in 1913 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1853.
That places New Zealand 1st out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 153 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1850s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 1860s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 1870s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1880s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| 1890s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 1900s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 1910s | 2.7 | 2 | 3 | 10 |
| 1920s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 1930s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 1940s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 1950s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 1960s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 1970s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 1980s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 1990s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 2000s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 2010s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 2020s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
- 1 Australia 3 compare
- 1 Austria 3 compare
- 1 Barbados 3 compare
- 1 Belgium 3 compare
- 1 Chile 3 compare
- 1 Costa Rica 3 compare
- 1 Cyprus 3 compare
- 1 Czechia 3 compare
- 1 Denmark 3 compare
- 1 Estonia 3 compare
- 1 Finland 3 compare
- 1 France 3 compare
- 1 Germany 3 compare
- 1 Iceland 3 compare
- 1 Italy 3 compare
- 1 Japan 3 compare
- 1 Latvia 3 compare
- 1 Lithuania 3 compare
- 1 Netherlands 3 compare
- 1 Norway 3 compare
- 1 Seychelles 3 compare
- 1 South Korea 3 compare
- 1 Spain 3 compare
- 1 Sweden 3 compare
- 1 Switzerland 3 compare
- 1 Taiwan 3 compare
- 1 Trinidad and Tobago 3 compare
- 1 Uruguay 3 compare
More reference data data for New Zealand
- Spring temperature anomalies 0.2008 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 1.76 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month 0.0464 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 0.5251 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 0.5536 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 144.86 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 1 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is democracy in New Zealand?
- Democracy in New Zealand was 3 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest democracy recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 3 in 1913.
- What is the lowest democracy recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1853.
- How does New Zealand rank for democracy?
- New Zealand ranks 1st out of 176 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 V-Dem (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 — 153 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Identifies the political regime of a country by distinguishing between closed autocracies, electoral autocracies, electoral democracies, and liberal democracies.