| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Electoral democracy index | 0.849 indexV-Dem [2025] |
| Liberal democracy index | 0.787 indexV-Dem [2025] |
| Government effectiveness | 1.85 indexWorld Bank WGI [2024] |
| Rule of law | 1.67 indexWorld Bank WGI [2024] |
| Control of corruption | 1.93 indexWorld Bank WGI [2024] |
| Voice & accountability | 1.69 indexWorld Bank WGI [2024] |
| Political stability | 1.15 indexWorld Bank WGI [2024] |
| Regulatory quality | 1.84 indexWorld Bank WGI [2024] |
| Cabinet fragmentation index | 0.766 indexWB DPI [2023] |
| Governing majority margin | 0.612 %WB DPI [2023] |
| Parties in executive cabinet | 74WB DPI [2023] |
| Women in parliament | 45.5 %WB Gender [2024] |
| Constitutional history supplement | No authoritative open source found |
| Legal system | common law system, based on English model, with special legislation and land courts for the MaoriCIA World Factbook [2025] · 2026 archive |
| Suffrage (voting rights) | 18 years of age; universalCIA World Factbook [2025] · 2026 archive |
New Zealand has no single constitution document; the Constitution Act 1986, effective 1 January 1987, includes only part of the uncodified constitution; others include a collection of statutes or "acts of Parliament," the Treaty of Waitangi, Orders in Council, letters patent, court decisions, and unwritten conventions
Source: CIA World Factbook (Historical Archive — final edition) · CC0 · Edition 2026-05
How to read these indices
V-Dem democracy indices range from 0 to 1 — higher values mean stronger democratic institutions. World Bank WGI governance estimates range from about −2.5 to +2.5, where higher is better. These are comparative indices across countries, not absolute scores.
