Costa Rica vs New Zealand: Democracy
Costa Rica
7
in 2025
New Zealand
7
in 2025
Costa Rica rank
1st
New Zealand rank
1st
Democracy over time
- Costa Rica
- New Zealand
How they compare
Costa Rica currently reports 7 against 7 in New Zealand, a difference of 0.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 185 shared years of data; in 1841 it was New Zealand ahead.
Costa Rica ranks 1st and New Zealand ranks 1st of 198 countries.
Across the 19 decades both report, Costa Rica averaged higher in 1 and New Zealand in 11.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Costa Rica | New Zealand | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1840s | 0.6667 | 0 | 0.6667 | Costa Rica |
| 1850s | 1 | 1.4 | 0.4 | New Zealand |
| 1860s | 1 | 3 | 2 | New Zealand |
| 1870s | 0.7 | 4.1 | 3.4 | New Zealand |
| 1880s | 1 | 5 | 4 | New Zealand |
| 1890s | 2.6 | 6.4 | 3.8 | New Zealand |
| 1900s | 3.9 | 7 | 3.1 | New Zealand |
| 1910s | 3.2 | 6.5 | 3.3 | New Zealand |
| 1920s | 4 | 7 | 3 | New Zealand |
| 1930s | 4 | 7 | 3 | New Zealand |
| 1940s | 3.8 | 6.4 | 2.6 | New Zealand |
| 1950s | 6.1 | 7 | 0.9 | New Zealand |
| 1960s | 7 | 7 | 0 | — |
| 1970s | 7 | 7 | 0 | — |
| 1980s | 7 | 7 | 0 | — |
| 1990s | 7 | 7 | 0 | — |
| 2000s | 7 | 7 | 0 | — |
| 2010s | 7 | 7 | 0 | — |
| 2020s | 7 | 7 | 0 | — |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher democracy, Costa Rica or New Zealand?
- Costa Rica, at 7 against 7 in New Zealand as of 2025.
- What is the difference in democracy between Costa Rica and New Zealand?
- 0, with Costa Rica ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and New Zealand?
- 185 years are reported by both, from 1841 to 2025.
- How do Costa Rica and New Zealand rank globally for democracy?
- Costa Rica ranks 1st and New Zealand ranks 1st of 198 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Democracy. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
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).