Data for 1991

Physical Violence Index, 1991

Name: Physical Violence Index, 1991
Creator: V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg
License: https://v-dem.net/data/the-v-dem-dataset/

1991, as V-Dem Institute’s 2026 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten

Physical Violence Index, 1991 covers 171 countries on 3 measures. 2 countries share the highest reading, 0.989; North Korea is lowest, at 0.030. The middle country reads 0.648. Against 1990, 61 values changed (48 up, 13 down), 3 countries joined.

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Physical Violence Index · Data for 1991

Highest2 countries share it

0.989

LowestNorth Korea

0.030

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

171countries
3measures per country
1991the year it describes
154distinct 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, 1991, 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 171 countries · select a heading to sort

Physical Violence Index, 1991: 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	Costa Rica`CRI`Central America	0.971	3.970	3.477
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	Greece`GRC`Southern Europe	0.959	3.953	3.333
21	Malta`MLT`Southern Europe	0.957	3.766	3.699
22	Canada`CAN`Northern America	0.955	3.898	3.448
=23	Hong Kong`HKG`Eastern Asia	0.953	3.844	3.536
=23	Singapore`SGP`South-eastern Asia	0.953	3.906	3.414
=23	Slovenia`SVN`Southern Europe	0.953	3.894	3.418
26	Belgium`BEL`Western Europe	0.951	3.527	3.826
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	Cabo Verde`CPV`Western Africa	0.941	3.812	3.445
34	Chile`CHL`South America	0.939	3.851	3.345
35	Italy`ITA`Southern Europe	0.926	3.717	3.410
36	Bulgaria`BGR`Eastern Europe	0.920	3.434	3.639
37	Barbados`BRB`Caribbean	0.919	3.839	3.112
38	São Tomé and Príncipe`STP`Middle Africa	0.908	3.509	3.458
39	Bolivia`BOL`South America	0.903	3.549	3.366
40	Vanuatu`VUT`Melanesia	0.899	3.877	2.761
41	Lithuania`LTU`Northern Europe	0.898	3.571	3.286
=42	Argentina`ARG`South America	0.897	3.679	3.160
=42	Botswana`BWA`Southern Africa	0.897	3.610	3.246
44	Namibia`NAM`Southern Africa	0.892	3.811	2.855
=45	Mauritius`MUS`Eastern Africa	0.891	3.649	3.160
=45	Solomon Islands`SLB`Melanesia	0.891	3.437	3.374
47	Cyprus`CYP`Western Asia	0.886	3.814	2.826
48	Latvia`LVA`Northern Europe	0.876	3.341	3.325
49	Suriname`SUR`South America	0.875	3.528	3.125
50	Fiji`FJI`Melanesia	0.870	3.571	3.008
51	Panama`PAN`Central America	0.868	3.509	3.112
52	Romania`ROU`Eastern Europe	0.859	3.364	3.199
53	South Korea`KOR`Eastern Asia	0.856	3.571	2.918
54	Jamaica`JAM`Caribbean	0.852	3.394	3.091
55	Gambia`GMB`Western Africa	0.848	3.689	2.631
56	Gabon`GAB`Middle Africa	0.845	3.634	2.717
57	Ecuador`ECU`South America	0.843	3.340	3.058
58	Taiwan`TWN`Eastern Asia	0.838	3.473	2.895
59	Nicaragua`NIC`Central America	0.836	2.975	3.344
60	United Kingdom`GBR`Northern Europe	0.827	2.794	3.400
61	Seychelles`SYC`Eastern Africa	0.820	3.032	3.168
62	Papua New Guinea`PNG`Melanesia	0.811	3.343	2.815
63	Venezuela`VEN`South America	0.808	3.244	2.906
64	Benin`BEN`Western Africa	0.806	3.328	2.807
65	Tanzania`TZA`Eastern Africa	0.799	3.339	2.731
66	Belarus`BLR`Eastern Europe	0.796	3.878	1.684
67	Qatar`QAT`Western Asia	0.776	3.365	2.541
68	Israel`ISR`Western Asia	0.775	3.628	2.111
69	India`IND`Southern Asia	0.745	3.293	2.399
70	Mongolia`MNG`Eastern Asia	0.743	3.013	2.679
71	Ukraine`UKR`Eastern Europe	0.729	3.325	2.226
72	Niger`NER`Western Africa	0.726	2.888	2.696
73	Guyana`GUY`South America	0.713	2.980	2.511
74	Jordan`JOR`Western Asia	0.710	3.177	2.274
75	Malaysia`MYS`South-eastern Asia	0.708	2.984	2.443
76	United Arab Emirates`ARE`Western Asia	0.699	3.339	1.958
=77	Nepal`NPL`Southern Asia	0.690	2.688	2.649
=77	Somaliland`XSL`Eastern Africa	0.690	2.631	2.663
79	Oman`OMN`Western Asia	0.680	2.937	2.321
80	Albania`ALB`Southern Europe	0.672	2.349	2.802
81	Paraguay`PRY`South America	0.669	2.460	2.675
82	Senegal`SEN`Western Africa	0.658	2.947	2.164
=83	Bhutan`BTN`Southern Asia	0.657	2.941	2.132
=83	North Macedonia`MKD`Southern Europe	0.657	3.069	2.014
85	Armenia`ARM`Western Asia	0.652	2.648	2.416
86	Ghana`GHA`Western Africa	0.648	2.905	2.120
87	Zambia`ZMB`Eastern Africa	0.644	2.770	2.244
88	Moldova`MDA`Eastern Europe	0.640	2.428	2.539
89	Kuwait`KWT`Western Asia	0.639	3.207	1.691
90	Brazil`BRA`South America	0.611	2.651	2.146
91	Vietnam`VNM`South-eastern Asia	0.610	3.208	1.511
92	Uzbekistan`UZB`Central Asia	0.605	3.177	1.503
93	Dominican Republic`DOM`Caribbean	0.602	2.386	2.337
94	Kazakhstan`KAZ`Central Asia	0.589	3.112	1.473
95	Russia`RUS`Eastern Europe	0.587	2.616	2.023
96	Haiti`HTI`Caribbean	0.585	1.969	2.567
=97	Central African Republic`CAF`Middle Africa	0.580	2.035	2.509
=97	Djibouti`DJI`Eastern Africa	0.580	2.146	2.417
99	Côte d’Ivoire`CIV`Western Africa	0.578	2.427	2.125
100	Kyrgyzstan`KGZ`Central Asia	0.545	2.814	1.526
101	Cuba`CUB`Caribbean	0.543	3.244	1.058
102	Croatia`HRV`Southern Europe	0.536	2.017	2.256
103	Serbia`SRB`Southern Europe	0.532	2.264	1.998
104	Azerbaijan`AZE`Western Asia	0.525	2.991	1.207
105	Philippines`PHL`South-eastern Asia	0.514	2.112	2.025
106	Honduras`HND`Central America	0.509	2.354	1.754
107	Liberia`LBR`Western Africa	0.505	2.042	2.012
108	Mexico`MEX`Central America	0.502	2.410	1.631
109	Maldives`MDV`Southern Asia	0.494	3.287	0.713
110	Lebanon`LBN`Western Asia	0.484	2.437	1.500
111	Republic of the Congo`COG`Middle Africa	0.481	2.070	1.821
112	Mozambique`MOZ`Eastern Africa	0.480	2.396	1.547
113	Mali`MLI`Western Africa	0.474	1.928	1.910
114	Lesotho`LSO`Southern Africa	0.461	2.084	1.686
=115	Cameroon`CMR`Middle Africa	0.446	2.657	1.061
=115	Tajikistan`TJK`Central Asia	0.446	2.484	1.205
117	Comoros`COM`Eastern Africa	0.444	1.985	1.657
118	Bangladesh`BGD`Southern Asia	0.443	1.549	2.079
119	Colombia`COL`South America	0.418	1.436	2.001
120	Algeria`DZA`Northern Africa	0.414	2.023	1.403
121	Uganda`UGA`Eastern Africa	0.395	1.795	1.496
122	Eswatini`SWZ`Southern Africa	0.392	2.176	1.168
123	Madagascar`MDG`Eastern Africa	0.384	1.464	1.712
124	China`CHN`Eastern Asia	0.383	2.098	1.150
125	Thailand`THA`South-eastern Asia	0.350	1.391	1.581
126	Yemen`YEM`Western Asia	0.348	1.191	1.731
127	Morocco`MAR`Northern Africa	0.344	1.952	1.012
128	Bahrain`BHR`Western Asia	0.339	1.933	1.044
129	Guinea`GIN`Western Africa	0.327	1.343	1.453
130	Saudi Arabia`SAU`Western Asia	0.314	1.752	0.993
131	Türkiye`TUR`Western Asia	0.308	1.419	1.223
132	Peru`PER`South America	0.303	1.467	1.163
133	Pakistan`PAK`Southern Asia	0.289	1.278	1.237
134	Zimbabwe`ZWE`Eastern Africa	0.280	1.458	1.003
135	Ethiopia`ETH`Eastern Africa	0.267	1.255	1.058
136	Turkmenistan`TKM`Central Asia	0.265	2.339	0.371
137	Tunisia`TUN`Northern Africa	0.258	1.894	0.556
138	Equatorial Guinea`GNQ`Middle Africa	0.253	1.313	0.937
139	Mauritania`MRT`Western Africa	0.250	1.042	1.242
140	Rwanda`RWA`Eastern Africa	0.240	0.632	1.515
141	Eritrea`ERI`Eastern Africa	0.238	1.003	1.148
142	Burundi`BDI`Eastern Africa	0.229	0.985	1.030
143	Burkina Faso`BFA`Western Africa	0.225	0.851	1.143
144	Togo`TGO`Western Africa	0.223	1.270	0.764
145	Egypt`EGY`Northern Africa	0.221	1.380	0.658
146	Indonesia`IDN`South-eastern Asia	0.215	1.167	0.792
=147	Georgia`GEO`Western Asia	0.202	0.987	0.831
=147	Guatemala`GTM`Central America	0.202	1.031	0.836
=147	Sri Lanka`LKA`Southern Asia	0.202	0.915	0.864
150	El Salvador`SLV`Central America	0.181	0.572	1.095
151	South Africa`ZAF`Southern Africa	0.178	0.780	0.862
152	Nigeria`NGA`Western Africa	0.161	0.731	0.730
153	Chad`TCD`Middle Africa	0.150	0.766	0.643
154	Angola`AGO`Middle Africa	0.146	0.616	0.701
155	Myanmar`MMR`South-eastern Asia	0.144	0.866	0.493
156	Guinea-Bissau`GNB`Western Africa	0.138	0.837	0.463
157	Sierra Leone`SLE`Western Africa	0.123	0.411	0.724
158	Cambodia`KHM`South-eastern Asia	0.119	0.762	0.389
159	Kenya`KEN`Eastern Africa	0.105	0.264	0.785
160	Libya`LBY`Northern Africa	0.103	0.757	0.272
161	Sudan`SDN`Northern Africa	0.096	0.560	0.365
162	DR Congo`COD`Middle Africa	0.095	0.404	0.468
163	Laos`LAO`South-eastern Asia	0.090	0.180	0.786
164	Iran`IRN`Southern Asia	0.086	0.433	0.341
165	Syria`SYR`Western Asia	0.079	0.502	0.259
166	Timor-Leste`TLS`South-eastern Asia	0.076	0.354	0.350
167	Afghanistan`AFG`Southern Asia	0.063	0.209	0.377
168	Iraq`IRQ`Western Asia	0.057	0.363	0.175
169	Somalia`SOM`Eastern Africa	0.034	0.117	0.167
170	Malawi`MWI`Eastern Africa	0.031	0.083	0.192
171	North Korea`PRK`Eastern Asia	0.030	0.107	0.145

02In 1991

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

171North Korea0.030
170Malawi0.031
169Somalia0.034
168Iraq0.057
167Afghanistan0.063

A higher value is the better result. The middle country reads 0.648. “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: 2.905
Freedom from torture (0–4)
HighestIceland3.929
LowestNorth Korea0.145
Middle country: 2.226

031990 → 1991

Since 1990

What changed between 1990 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

+3 / −0countries joined / left
61values changed, of 168 in both
48 · 13rose · fell
107unchanged

Rose most

Albania0.233 → 0.672+0.439
Azerbaijan0.218 → 0.525+0.307
Liberia0.253 → 0.505+0.252
Ethiopia0.066 → 0.267+0.201
Bangladesh0.250 → 0.443+0.193

Fell most

Kyrgyzstan0.703 → 0.545−0.158
Thailand0.493 → 0.350−0.143
Madagascar0.505 → 0.384−0.121
Sierra Leone0.224 → 0.123−0.101
Serbia0.613 → 0.532−0.081

+ Croatia

+ North Macedonia+ Somaliland

Both years come from the same release, so a difference here is a change in the data, not a revision of it. Every country’s full history is charted on the statistic page.

04Caveats

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 1991.
154 distinct values among 171
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 171 countries has every column.

05The 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
171 rows · 6.6 KB · UTF-8, opens in Excel
Opens with 11 lines of source notes; the table starts on row 13.
Download physical-violence-1991-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 (1991). Physical Violence Index, 1991 [data set], describing 1991. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/physical-violence/1991

0636 held

Other years

‹ The year before
Physical Violence Index, 1990
168 countries
The year after ›
Physical Violence Index, 1992
172 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

07Questions