Data for 1990

Physical Violence Index, 1990

Name: Physical Violence Index, 1990
Creator: V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg
License: https://v-dem.net/data/the-v-dem-dataset/

1990, as V-Dem Institute’s 2026 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten

Physical Violence Index, 1990 covers 168 countries on 3 measures. 2 countries share the highest reading, 0.989; North Korea is lowest, at 0.030. The middle country reads 0.623.

Download CSV Cite this year

Share this page

Physical Violence Index · Data for 1990

Highest2 countries share it

0.989

LowestNorth Korea

0.030

Shaded by value in five groups of equal size, darkest at the better end.

168countries
3measures per country
1990the year it describes
149distinct values3 decimals, as published
Sep 11, 2026read from the publisher
CC BY-SA 4.0licence

01Position · derived

The table

Every country and every column of Physical Violence Index, 1990, as published. V-Dem Institute ranks nobody on this measure; the position is derived here by ordering the published values. “=” marks a shared position.

Search this table

Showing 25 of 168 countries · select a heading to sort

Physical Violence Index, 1990: every country, as published by V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg.
derived
=1	Iceland`ISL`Northern Europe	0.989	3.940	3.929
=1	Sweden`SWE`Northern Europe	0.989	3.955	3.919
=3	Denmark`DNK`Northern Europe	0.988	3.954	3.901
=3	Norway`NOR`Northern Europe	0.988	3.953	3.896
5	Finland`FIN`Northern Europe	0.987	3.935	3.912
=6	Germany`DEU`Western Europe	0.986	3.954	3.858
=6	New Zealand`NZL`Australia and New Zealand	0.986	3.947	3.888
8	Poland`POL`Eastern Europe	0.982	3.932	3.835
9	Australia`AUS`Australia and New Zealand	0.980	3.922	3.822
=10	Czechia`CZE`Eastern Europe	0.979	3.940	3.771
=10	Portugal`PRT`Southern Europe	0.979	3.927	3.795
12	Netherlands`NLD`Western Europe	0.977	3.810	3.892
13	Switzerland`CHE`Western Europe	0.975	3.929	3.706
14	Belgium`BEL`Western Europe	0.970	3.821	3.826
15	Japan`JPN`Eastern Asia	0.964	3.934	3.510
=16	France`FRA`Western Europe	0.963	3.860	3.650
=16	Uruguay`URY`South America	0.963	3.852	3.681
18	Ireland`IRL`Northern Europe	0.962	3.758	3.783
19	Luxembourg`LUX`Western Europe	0.961	3.739	3.762
=20	Costa Rica`CRI`Central America	0.959	3.970	3.188
=20	Greece`GRC`Southern Europe	0.959	3.953	3.333
22	Malta`MLT`Southern Europe	0.957	3.766	3.699
23	Canada`CAN`Northern America	0.955	3.898	3.448
=24	Hong Kong`HKG`Eastern Asia	0.953	3.844	3.536
=24	Singapore`SGP`South-eastern Asia	0.953	3.906	3.414
=24	Slovenia`SVN`Southern Europe	0.953	3.894	3.418
27	Austria`AUT`Western Europe	0.950	3.851	3.468
=28	Estonia`EST`Northern Europe	0.948	3.917	3.284
=28	Hungary`HUN`Eastern Europe	0.948	3.930	3.243
=30	Spain`ESP`Southern Europe	0.944	3.930	3.192
=30	Trinidad and Tobago`TTO`Caribbean	0.944	3.876	3.327
32	United States`USA`Northern America	0.942	3.801	3.485
33	Lithuania`LTU`Northern Europe	0.933	3.845	3.286
34	Italy`ITA`Southern Europe	0.926	3.717	3.410
35	Bulgaria`BGR`Eastern Europe	0.920	3.434	3.639
36	Barbados`BRB`Caribbean	0.919	3.839	3.112
37	Cabo Verde`CPV`Western Africa	0.916	3.812	3.140
38	Vanuatu`VUT`Melanesia	0.899	3.877	2.761
39	Botswana`BWA`Southern Africa	0.897	3.610	3.246
=40	Mauritius`MUS`Eastern Africa	0.891	3.649	3.160
=40	Solomon Islands`SLB`Melanesia	0.891	3.437	3.374
42	Argentina`ARG`South America	0.889	3.620	3.160
43	Cyprus`CYP`Western Asia	0.886	3.814	2.826
44	Fiji`FJI`Melanesia	0.870	3.571	3.008
45	Panama`PAN`Central America	0.868	3.509	3.112
46	Latvia`LVA`Northern Europe	0.867	3.341	3.250
=47	Chile`CHL`South America	0.856	3.851	2.351
=47	South Korea`KOR`Eastern Asia	0.856	3.571	2.918
49	Jamaica`JAM`Caribbean	0.852	3.394	3.091
50	Bolivia`BOL`South America	0.850	3.055	3.366
51	Gambia`GMB`Western Africa	0.848	3.689	2.631
52	Ecuador`ECU`South America	0.843	3.340	3.058
53	Taiwan`TWN`Eastern Asia	0.838	3.473	2.895
54	Suriname`SUR`South America	0.835	3.283	3.082
=55	Nicaragua`NIC`Central America	0.827	2.975	3.283
=55	United Kingdom`GBR`Northern Europe	0.827	2.794	3.400
57	Seychelles`SYC`Eastern Africa	0.820	3.032	3.168
58	Papua New Guinea`PNG`Melanesia	0.811	3.343	2.815
59	Venezuela`VEN`South America	0.808	3.244	2.906
60	Romania`ROU`Eastern Europe	0.802	2.853	3.199
61	Benin`BEN`Western Africa	0.800	3.271	2.807
62	Tanzania`TZA`Eastern Africa	0.799	3.339	2.731
63	Namibia`NAM`Southern Africa	0.794	3.411	2.600
64	Gabon`GAB`Middle Africa	0.783	3.634	2.196
65	Qatar`QAT`Western Asia	0.776	3.365	2.541
66	Israel`ISR`Western Asia	0.775	3.628	2.111
67	São Tomé and Príncipe`STP`Middle Africa	0.769	3.078	2.795
68	Belarus`BLR`Eastern Europe	0.759	3.878	1.346
69	India`IND`Southern Asia	0.745	3.293	2.399
70	Guyana`GUY`South America	0.713	2.980	2.511
71	Jordan`JOR`Western Asia	0.710	3.177	2.274
72	Malaysia`MYS`South-eastern Asia	0.708	2.984	2.443
73	Kyrgyzstan`KGZ`Central Asia	0.703	3.521	1.714
74	United Arab Emirates`ARE`Western Asia	0.699	3.339	1.958
75	Oman`OMN`Western Asia	0.680	2.937	2.321
76	Ukraine`UKR`Eastern Europe	0.677	3.141	2.071
77	Paraguay`PRY`South America	0.669	2.460	2.675
78	Niger`NER`Western Africa	0.663	2.888	2.252
79	Senegal`SEN`Western Africa	0.658	2.947	2.164
80	Bhutan`BTN`Southern Asia	0.657	2.941	2.132
81	Ghana`GHA`Western Africa	0.648	2.905	2.120
82	Kuwait`KWT`Western Asia	0.631	3.147	1.691
83	Moldova`MDA`Eastern Europe	0.626	2.323	2.539
84	Mongolia`MNG`Eastern Asia	0.624	2.636	2.255
85	Armenia`ARM`Western Asia	0.622	2.459	2.416
86	Djibouti`DJI`Eastern Africa	0.620	2.425	2.417
87	Serbia`SRB`Southern Europe	0.613	2.642	2.171
88	Brazil`BRA`South America	0.611	2.651	2.146
89	Vietnam`VNM`South-eastern Asia	0.610	3.208	1.511
90	Uzbekistan`UZB`Central Asia	0.605	3.177	1.503
91	Dominican Republic`DOM`Caribbean	0.602	2.386	2.337
92	Kazakhstan`KAZ`Central Asia	0.589	3.112	1.473
93	Russia`RUS`Eastern Europe	0.587	2.616	2.023
94	Côte d’Ivoire`CIV`Western Africa	0.578	2.427	2.125
95	Haiti`HTI`Caribbean	0.559	1.459	2.790
96	Nepal`NPL`Southern Asia	0.545	2.287	2.060
97	Cuba`CUB`Caribbean	0.543	3.244	1.058
98	Central African Republic`CAF`Middle Africa	0.541	1.757	2.509
99	Philippines`PHL`South-eastern Asia	0.514	2.112	2.025
100	Madagascar`MDG`Eastern Africa	0.505	2.372	1.712
101	Maldives`MDV`Southern Asia	0.494	3.287	0.713
102	Thailand`THA`South-eastern Asia	0.493	2.447	1.581
103	Lebanon`LBN`Western Asia	0.484	2.437	1.500
104	Mexico`MEX`Central America	0.473	2.410	1.437
105	Zambia`ZMB`Eastern Africa	0.467	2.397	1.422
106	Lesotho`LSO`Southern Africa	0.461	2.084	1.686
107	Mali`MLI`Western Africa	0.451	1.928	1.777
=108	Cameroon`CMR`Middle Africa	0.446	2.657	1.061
=108	Tajikistan`TJK`Central Asia	0.446	2.484	1.205
110	Honduras`HND`Central America	0.445	1.900	1.754
111	Colombia`COL`South America	0.409	1.436	1.928
112	Eswatini`SWZ`Southern Africa	0.392	2.176	1.168
113	Comoros`COM`Eastern Africa	0.391	1.985	1.283
114	Algeria`DZA`Northern Africa	0.387	1.815	1.403
115	Mozambique`MOZ`Eastern Africa	0.386	1.860	1.386
116	China`CHN`Eastern Asia	0.383	2.098	1.150
117	Uganda`UGA`Eastern Africa	0.359	1.521	1.496
118	Bahrain`BHR`Western Asia	0.339	1.933	1.044
119	Republic of the Congo`COG`Middle Africa	0.319	1.524	1.220
120	Saudi Arabia`SAU`Western Asia	0.314	1.752	0.993
121	Morocco`MAR`Northern Africa	0.312	1.952	0.811
122	Türkiye`TUR`Western Asia	0.308	1.419	1.223
123	Peru`PER`South America	0.303	1.467	1.163
124	Burundi`BDI`Eastern Africa	0.299	0.985	1.584
125	Pakistan`PAK`Southern Asia	0.289	1.278	1.237
126	Zimbabwe`ZWE`Eastern Africa	0.280	1.458	1.003
127	Turkmenistan`TKM`Central Asia	0.265	2.339	0.371
128	Tunisia`TUN`Northern Africa	0.258	1.894	0.556
=129	Equatorial Guinea`GNQ`Middle Africa	0.253	1.313	0.937
=129	Liberia`LBR`Western Africa	0.253	1.216	1.039
131	Bangladesh`BGD`Southern Asia	0.250	1.371	0.861
132	Rwanda`RWA`Eastern Africa	0.240	0.632	1.515
133	Albania`ALB`Southern Europe	0.233	0.382	1.834
134	Guinea`GIN`Western Africa	0.228	0.805	1.249
135	Sierra Leone`SLE`Western Africa	0.224	1.020	0.994
136	Egypt`EGY`Northern Africa	0.221	1.380	0.658
137	Azerbaijan`AZE`Western Asia	0.218	1.709	0.468
138	Indonesia`IDN`South-eastern Asia	0.215	1.167	0.792
=139	Georgia`GEO`Western Asia	0.202	0.987	0.831
=139	Guatemala`GTM`Central America	0.202	1.031	0.836
=139	Sri Lanka`LKA`Southern Asia	0.202	0.915	0.864
142	Burkina Faso`BFA`Western Africa	0.190	0.607	1.143
143	Mauritania`MRT`Western Africa	0.189	1.042	0.765
144	Yemen`YEM`Western Asia	0.185	0.778	0.870
145	South Africa`ZAF`Southern Africa	0.178	0.780	0.862
146	Nigeria`NGA`Western Africa	0.161	0.731	0.730
147	Angola`AGO`Middle Africa	0.156	0.616	0.819
=148	El Salvador`SLV`Central America	0.144	0.572	0.747
=148	Myanmar`MMR`South-eastern Asia	0.144	0.866	0.493
150	Guinea-Bissau`GNB`Western Africa	0.138	0.837	0.463
151	Cambodia`KHM`South-eastern Asia	0.119	0.762	0.389
152	Togo`TGO`Western Africa	0.114	1.041	0.215
153	Libya`LBY`Northern Africa	0.103	0.757	0.272
154	Laos`LAO`South-eastern Asia	0.098	0.218	0.786
155	Sudan`SDN`Northern Africa	0.096	0.560	0.365
156	DR Congo`COD`Middle Africa	0.095	0.404	0.468
157	Afghanistan`AFG`Southern Asia	0.094	0.295	0.611
158	Iran`IRN`Southern Asia	0.086	0.433	0.341
159	Syria`SYR`Western Asia	0.079	0.502	0.259
=160	Kenya`KEN`Eastern Africa	0.076	0.105	0.785
=160	Timor-Leste`TLS`South-eastern Asia	0.076	0.354	0.350
162	Eritrea`ERI`Eastern Africa	0.072	0.354	0.331
163	Ethiopia`ETH`Eastern Africa	0.066	0.291	0.298
164	Chad`TCD`Middle Africa	0.059	0.334	0.206
165	Iraq`IRQ`Western Asia	0.057	0.363	0.175
166	Somalia`SOM`Eastern Africa	0.043	0.202	0.167
167	Malawi`MWI`Eastern Africa	0.031	0.083	0.192
168	North Korea`PRK`Eastern Asia	0.030	0.107	0.145

02In 1990

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline, then the highest and lowest on each other measure.

Highest

1Icelandshared0.989
1Swedenshared0.989
3Denmarkshared0.988
3Norwayshared0.988
5Finland0.987

Lowest

168North Korea0.030
167Malawi0.031
166Somalia0.043
165Iraq0.057
164Chad0.059

A higher value is the better result. The middle country reads 0.623. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

Each measure’s ends

Freedom from political killings (0–4)
HighestCosta Rica3.970
LowestMalawi0.083
Middle country: 2.871
Freedom from torture (0–4)
HighestIceland3.929
LowestNorth Korea0.145
Middle country: 2.129

03Caveats

Read before you use

What this edition’s numbers are and are not, worked out from the file itself.

How values are stored

One year of the 2026 release
Every year in this series comes from V-Dem Institute’s 2026 release, recalculated on one method. It can differ from what was first published for 1990.
149 distinct values among 168
Values are stored exactly as published, to 3 decimals. 3 countries share 0.953. Countries sharing a value share a position too.
The position is ours
V-Dem Institute publishes values only; the order is this site’s.
Nothing missing
Every one of the 168 countries has every column.

04The files

Download and cite

The table as a file, digit for digit, what this site changed, and a citation for this edition.

Licence in full

.csv
For a spreadsheet or code
168 rows · 6.5 KB · UTF-8, opens in Excel
Opens with 11 lines of source notes; the table starts on row 13.
Download physical-violence-1990-nations-inquiry.csv
↗
The publisher’s original
V-Dem Institute’s own file, on its own site.
V-Dem-CY-Core-v16_csv.zip

What this site changed: Reshaped into one row per country: regional and income-group totals are left out, only the columns listed are kept, each row gets its ISO 3166 code, and some country names are brought to one spelling. No value is recalculated, rescaled or rounded.

Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 · what it allows, in plain words

Cite this edition

V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg (1990). Physical Violence Index, 1990 [data set], describing 1990. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/physical-violence/1990

0536 held

Other years

‹ The year before
This is the first year held here.
The year after ›
Physical Violence Index, 1991
171 countries
All of them
Physical Violence Index: every year
36 held, with the data dictionary, coverage and licence.
How it has moved, charted by country

06Questions