Governance at a glance
- Government
- Unitary Westminster parliamentary system
- UN member
- Yes
- Independent
- Yes
- CPI score (2026)
- 81/100
- Press freedom (2025)
- 81.4/100 #16
- Electoral democracy (2025)
- 0.849
- HDI
- 0.938
Government and leaders
- Government type
- Unitary Westminster parliamentary system
| Title | Name |
|---|---|
| Monarchy of New Zealand | Charles III |
| Governor-General of New Zealand | Cindy Kiro |
Safety and security
- Homicide rate (2022)
- 1.5/100k
- Traffic deaths (2019)
- 9.6/100k
- Military spending (2024)
- 1.2% of GDP
World governance indicators
Percentile rank among all countries
Political stability (2023)
96th pct
Rule of law (2023)
96th pct
Corruption control (2023)
99th pct
Government effectiveness (2023)
92th pct
Regulatory quality (2023)
99th pct
Voice and accountability (2023)
100th pct
Corruption perceptions index
- CPI score (2026)
- 81 / 100
- Interpretation
- Low corruption
Democracy index
- Electoral (2025)
- 0.849
- Liberal
- 0.787
- Participatory
- 0.581
- Deliberative
- 0.644
- Egalitarian
- 0.726
Press freedom index
- Overall score (2025)
- 81.4 / 100
- Global rank
- #16 / 180
- Rank change
- +3 vs previous year
- RSF zone
- Asie-Pacifique
- Political #20
- 78.3
- Economic #10
- 72.2
- Legal #29
- 80.8
- Social #14
- 83.5
- Safety #23
- 92.2
Press freedom historical data
| Year | Score | Rank | Political | Economic | Legal | Social | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 81.4 | 16 | 78.3 | 72.2 | 80.8 | 83.5 | 92.2 |
| 2024 | 79.7 | 19 | 85.4 | 72.1 | 71.2 | 79.8 | 90.2 |
| 2023 | 84.2 | 13 | 89.7 | 77.5 | 78.6 | 84.1 | 91.3 |
| 2022 | 83.5 | 11 | 90.2 | 75.3 | 74.8 | 89.8 | 87.8 |
| 2021 | 90.0 | 8 | - | - | - | - | 100.0 |
| 2020 | 89.3 | 9 | - | - | - | - | 100.0 |
| 2019 | 89.3 | 7 | - | - | - | - | 100.0 |
| 2018 | 86.4 | 8 | - | - | - | - | 100.0 |
| 2017 | 86.0 | 13 | - | - | - | - | 100.0 |
| 2016 | 90.0 | 5 | - | - | - | - | 83.9 |
| 2015 | 89.9 | 6 | - | - | - | - | 83.9 |
| 2014 | 91.5 | 9 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2013 | 91.6 | 8 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2012 | -5.3 | 13 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2010 | 1.5 | 8 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2009 | 3.0 | 13 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2008 | 3.0 | 7 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2007 | 4.2 | 15 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2006 | 5.0 | 21 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2005 | 2.0 | 12 | - | - | - | - | - |