Statizoid

Private Civil Liberties Index in New Zealand

New Zealand: Private Civil Liberties Index was 0.941 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
0.941
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
4th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.959
in 1984
All-time low
0.876
in 1841
Years of data
185
1841–2025

Private Civil Liberties Index in New Zealand, 1841–2025

00.20.40.60.81184119332025

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

Analysis

In 2025, private civil liberties index in New Zealand stood at 0.941.

The figure is down 0.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, private civil liberties index in New Zealand peaked at 0.959 in 1984 and was at its lowest, 0.876, in 1841.

New Zealand ranks 4th 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.

Private Civil Liberties Index in New Zealand, year by year

Year Value Change
1841 0.876 —
1842 0.876 +0.0%
1843 0.876 +0.0%
1844 0.876 +0.0%
1845 0.876 +0.0%
1846 0.876 +0.0%
1847 0.876 +0.0%
1848 0.876 +0.0%
1849 0.876 +0.0%
1850 0.876 +0.0%
1851 0.876 +0.0%
1852 0.876 +0.0%
1853 0.876 +0.0%
1854 0.876 +0.0%
1855 0.876 +0.0%
1856 0.876 +0.0%
1857 0.876 +0.0%
1858 0.876 +0.0%
1859 0.876 +0.0%
1860 0.876 +0.0%
1861 0.876 +0.0%
1862 0.876 +0.0%
1863 0.876 +0.0%
1864 0.876 +0.0%
1865 0.876 +0.0%
1866 0.876 +0.0%
1867 0.876 +0.0%
1868 0.876 +0.0%
1869 0.876 +0.0%
1870 0.876 +0.0%
1871 0.876 +0.0%
1872 0.876 +0.0%
1873 0.876 +0.0%
1874 0.876 +0.0%
1875 0.876 +0.0%
1876 0.876 +0.0%
1877 0.876 +0.0%
1878 0.876 +0.0%
1879 0.876 +0.0%
1880 0.876 +0.0%
1881 0.876 +0.0%
1882 0.876 +0.0%
1883 0.876 +0.0%
1884 0.931 +6.3%
1885 0.931 +0.0%
1886 0.931 +0.0%
1887 0.931 +0.0%
1888 0.931 +0.0%
1889 0.931 +0.0%
1890 0.931 +0.0%
1891 0.931 +0.0%
1892 0.931 +0.0%
1893 0.931 +0.0%
1894 0.931 +0.0%
1895 0.931 +0.0%
1896 0.931 +0.0%
1897 0.931 +0.0%
1898 0.931 +0.0%
1899 0.931 +0.0%
1900 0.931 +0.0%
1901 0.931 +0.0%
1902 0.931 +0.0%
1903 0.931 +0.0%
1904 0.931 +0.0%
1905 0.931 +0.0%
1906 0.931 +0.0%
1907 0.931 +0.0%
1908 0.931 +0.0%
1909 0.931 +0.0%
1910 0.931 +0.0%
1911 0.931 +0.0%
1912 0.931 +0.0%
1913 0.931 +0.0%
1914 0.925 -0.6%
1915 0.925 +0.0%
1916 0.925 +0.0%
1917 0.925 +0.0%
1918 0.925 +0.0%
1919 0.925 +0.0%
1920 0.93 +0.5%
1921 0.93 +0.0%
1922 0.93 +0.0%
1923 0.93 +0.0%
1924 0.93 +0.0%
1925 0.93 +0.0%
1926 0.93 +0.0%
1927 0.93 +0.0%
1928 0.93 +0.0%
1929 0.93 +0.0%
1930 0.93 +0.0%
1931 0.93 +0.0%
1932 0.93 +0.0%
1933 0.93 +0.0%
1934 0.93 +0.0%
1935 0.93 +0.0%
1936 0.93 +0.0%
1937 0.93 +0.0%
1938 0.93 +0.0%
1939 0.921 -1.0%
1940 0.921 +0.0%
1941 0.921 +0.0%
1942 0.921 +0.0%
1943 0.921 +0.0%
1944 0.921 +0.0%
1945 0.921 +0.0%
1946 0.921 +0.0%
1947 0.928 +0.8%
1948 0.928 +0.0%
1949 0.928 +0.0%
1950 0.928 +0.0%
1951 0.928 +0.0%
1952 0.928 +0.0%
1953 0.928 +0.0%
1954 0.928 +0.0%
1955 0.928 +0.0%
1956 0.928 +0.0%
1957 0.928 +0.0%
1958 0.928 +0.0%
1959 0.928 +0.0%
1960 0.928 +0.0%
1961 0.928 +0.0%
1962 0.928 +0.0%
1963 0.94 +1.3%
1964 0.94 +0.0%
1965 0.94 +0.0%
1966 0.94 +0.0%
1967 0.94 +0.0%
1968 0.94 +0.0%
1969 0.94 +0.0%
1970 0.94 +0.0%
1971 0.94 +0.0%
1972 0.953 +1.4%
1973 0.953 +0.0%
1974 0.953 +0.0%
1975 0.953 +0.0%
1976 0.953 +0.0%
1977 0.953 +0.0%
1978 0.953 +0.0%
1979 0.953 +0.0%
1980 0.953 +0.0%
1981 0.953 +0.0%
1982 0.953 +0.0%
1983 0.953 +0.0%
1984 0.959 +0.6%
1985 0.959 +0.0%
1986 0.959 +0.0%
1987 0.959 +0.0%
1988 0.959 +0.0%
1989 0.959 +0.0%
1990 0.944 -1.6%
1991 0.944 +0.0%
1992 0.944 +0.0%
1993 0.944 +0.0%
1994 0.944 +0.0%
1995 0.944 +0.0%
1996 0.944 +0.0%
1997 0.944 +0.0%
1998 0.944 +0.0%
1999 0.944 +0.0%
2000 0.944 +0.0%
2001 0.944 +0.0%
2002 0.944 +0.0%
2003 0.944 +0.0%
2004 0.944 +0.0%
2005 0.944 +0.0%
2006 0.944 +0.0%
2007 0.944 +0.0%
2008 0.944 +0.0%
2009 0.944 +0.0%
2010 0.944 +0.0%
2011 0.944 +0.0%
2012 0.944 +0.0%
2013 0.944 +0.0%
2014 0.944 +0.0%
2015 0.944 +0.0%
2016 0.944 +0.0%
2017 0.944 +0.0%
2018 0.944 +0.0%
2019 0.944 +0.0%
2020 0.916 -3.0%
2021 0.913 -0.3%
2022 0.946 +3.6%
2023 0.946 +0.0%
2024 0.941 -0.5%
2025 0.941 +0.0%

New Zealand compared with similar countries

  • New Zealand's 0.941 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.894, 1.1× the median. (55 countries reporting)
  • New Zealand's 0.941 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.7205, 1.3× the median. (22 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1840s 0.876 0.876 0.876 9
1850s 0.876 0.876 0.876 10
1860s 0.876 0.876 0.876 10
1870s 0.876 0.876 0.876 10
1880s 0.909 0.876 0.931 10
1890s 0.931 0.931 0.931 10
1900s 0.931 0.931 0.931 10
1910s 0.9274 0.925 0.931 10
1920s 0.93 0.93 0.93 10
1930s 0.9291 0.921 0.93 10
1940s 0.9231 0.921 0.928 10
1950s 0.928 0.928 0.928 10
1960s 0.9364 0.928 0.94 10
1970s 0.9504 0.94 0.953 10
1980s 0.9566 0.953 0.959 10
1990s 0.944 0.944 0.944 10
2000s 0.944 0.944 0.944 10
2010s 0.944 0.944 0.944 10
2020s 0.9338 0.913 0.946 6

Countries ranked near New Zealand

  1. 1 Germany 0.955 compare
  2. 2 Estonia 0.953 compare
  3. 3 Iceland 0.944 compare
  4. 4 Sweden 0.941 compare
  5. 6 Ireland 0.939 compare
  6. 7 Denmark 0.938 compare
  7. 7 Spain 0.938 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 private civil liberties index in New Zealand?
Private civil liberties index in New Zealand was 0.941 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest private civil liberties index recorded in New Zealand?
The highest recorded value was 0.959 in 1984.
What is the lowest private civil liberties index recorded in New Zealand?
The lowest recorded value was 0.876 in 1841.
How does New Zealand rank for private civil liberties index?
New Zealand ranks 4th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is private civil liberties 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 Private Civil Liberties Index. 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).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Private Civil Liberties 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/private-civil-liberties-index/new-zealand/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/private-civil-liberties-index/new-zealand/">Private Civil Liberties Index in New Zealand</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Private Civil Liberties 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

Central estimate the extent to which people are free from forced labor, have property rights, and enjoy freedom of movement and religion.