Country Foundations

New Zealand

Constitution in force since 1852, 4,736 words. Rights measured for 2023.

Read this profile with care. This country has no entrenched, codified bill of rights, so its declared scores are structurally low and its gap looks large and positive. That is a real finding about constitutional design — rights here are protected by statute, common law, or convention instead — not evidence that the country outperforms its peers.

Declared
2%
mean across compared rights
Practiced
86%
mean across compared rights
Gap
+84%
delivers more than promised
Executive respects constitution
85%
V-Dem, measured directly

The rights ledger

Each row compares what the constitution declares against what is measured in practice. The two values are always shown together — a gap on its own is easy to misread.

Declared in the constitutionPracticed (measured)Falls short / exceeds
0255075100Right to life — declared 0%, practiced 96%, gap +96%Right to life0%96%+96%Freedom from torture — declared 0%, practiced 96%, gap +96%Freedom from torture0%96%+96%Freedom from slavery and forced labour — declared 0%, practiced 75%, gap +75%Freedom from slavery and forced labour0%75%+75%Freedom from arbitrary detention (habeas corpus) — declared 0%, practiced 82%, gap +82%Freedom from arbitrary detention (ha…0%82%+82%Right to a fair and public trial — declared 0%, practiced 81%, gap +81%Right to a fair and public trial0%81%+81%Presumption of innocence — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Presumption of innocenceno practice measure0%——Right to legal counsel — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to legal counselno practice measure0%——Protection from self-incrimination — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from self-incriminationno practice measure0%——Protection from double jeopardy — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from double jeopardyno practice measure0%——Due process of law — declared 0%, practiced 81%, gap +81%Due process of law0%81%+81%Trial by jury or lay participation — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Trial by jury or lay participationno practice measure0%——Freedom of expression — declared 0%, practiced 84%, gap +84%Freedom of expression0%84%+84%Freedom of the press — declared 0%, practiced 74%, gap +74%Freedom of the press0%74%+74%Freedom of thought and conscience — declared 0%, practiced 92%, gap +92%Freedom of thought and conscience0%92%+92%Freedom of religion — declared 0%, practiced 97%, gap +97%Freedom of religion0%97%+97%Separation of religion and state — declared 50%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Separation of religion and stateno practice measure50%——Academic freedom — declared 0%, practiced 80%, gap +80%Academic freedom0%80%+80%Freedom of assembly — declared 0%, practiced 78%, gap +78%Freedom of assembly0%78%+78%Freedom of association — declared 0%, practiced 83%, gap +83%Freedom of association0%83%+83%Right to petition government — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to petition governmentno practice measure0%——Right to form and join trade unions — declared 0%, practiced 78%, gap +78%Right to form and join trade unions0%78%+78%Right to vote and universal suffrage — declared 50%, practiced 93%, gap +43%Right to vote and universal suffrage50%93%+43%Right to privacy — declared 0%, practiced 98%, gap +98%Right to privacy0%98%+98%Freedom of movement — declared 0%, practiced 98%, gap +98%Freedom of movement0%98%+98%Right to asylum — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to asylumno practice measure0%——Right to own property — declared 0%, practiced 93%, gap +93%Right to own property0%93%+93%Equality before the law — declared 0%, practiced 89%, gap +89%Equality before the law0%89%+89%Right to education — declared 0%, practiced 80%, gap +80%Right to education0%80%+80%Right to health care — declared 0%, practiced 83%, gap +83%Right to health care0%83%+83%Right to shelter or housing — declared 0%, practiced 71%, gap +71%Right to shelter or housing0%71%+71%Independent judiciary — declared 0%, practiced 97%, gap +97%Independent judiciary0%97%+97%Right to bear arms — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to bear armsno practice measure0%——decl.prac.gap

· marks a right with no provision in that country’s constitution. Scores run 0–100; practiced values are V-Dem indicators normalized across all country-years.

Promise and practice over time

The declared line steps when the constitution changes. The practiced line moves when behaviour does. The distance between those two moments is the part worth looking at.

Declared (the text)Practiced (measured)The text changed
050100190019502000

Mean across the 23 rights measured on both sides, 1852–2023. Vertical marks show years when the constitutional text changed enough to move the declared score.

Delivered, though never promised

  • Right to life +96%
  • Freedom from torture +96%
  • Freedom from slavery and forced labour +75%
  • Freedom from arbitrary detention (habeas corpus) +82%

Declared internationally

A constitution is only one place a country makes promises. These are the nine core UN human rights treaties.

Civil & Political Rights (ICCPR)ratified 1978
Economic, Social & Cultural Rights (ICESCR)ratified 1978
Racial Discrimination (ICERD)ratified 1972
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)ratified 1985
Convention against Torture (CAT)ratified 1989
Rights of the Child (CRC)ratified 1993
Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)ratified 2008
Enforced Disappearance (CPED)no action
Migrant Workers (ICMW)no action

Compare with

AfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAngolaArgentinaArmeniaAustraliaAzerbaijanBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBeninBhutanBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBrazilBulgariaBurkina FasoBurma/MyanmarBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaColombiaComorosCosta RicaCroatiaCubaCyprusDemocratic Republic of the CongoDenmarkDjiboutiDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEswatiniEthiopiaFijiFinlandFranceGabonGeorgiaGhanaGreeceGuatemalaGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyana

Data generated 2026-08-08.