Data for 1997

Physical Violence Index, 1997

Name: Physical Violence Index, 1997
Creator: V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg
License: https://v-dem.net/data/the-v-dem-dataset/

1997, as V-Dem Institute’s 2026 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten

Physical Violence Index, 1997 covers 173 countries on 3 measures. 2 countries share the highest reading, 0.989; Afghanistan is lowest, at 0.022. The middle country reads 0.699. Against 1996, 33 values changed (16 up, 17 down), the same countries are covered.

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Physical Violence Index · Data for 1997

Highest2 countries share it

0.989

LowestAfghanistan

0.022

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

173countries
3measures per country
1997the year it describes
153distinct 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, 1997, 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 173 countries · select a heading to sort

Physical Violence Index, 1997: 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	Belgium`BEL`Western Europe	0.981	3.932	3.826
10	Australia`AUS`Australia and New Zealand	0.980	3.922	3.822
=11	Czechia`CZE`Eastern Europe	0.979	3.940	3.771
=11	Portugal`PRT`Southern Europe	0.979	3.927	3.795
=13	Netherlands`NLD`Western Europe	0.977	3.810	3.892
=13	Uruguay`URY`South America	0.977	3.951	3.681
=15	Estonia`EST`Northern Europe	0.975	3.917	3.742
=15	Switzerland`CHE`Western Europe	0.975	3.929	3.706
17	Greece`GRC`Southern Europe	0.974	3.953	3.615
18	Costa Rica`CRI`Central America	0.971	3.970	3.477
19	Spain`ESP`Southern Europe	0.969	3.930	3.636
20	Japan`JPN`Eastern Asia	0.964	3.934	3.510
21	France`FRA`Western Europe	0.963	3.860	3.650
22	Ireland`IRL`Northern Europe	0.962	3.758	3.783
23	Luxembourg`LUX`Western Europe	0.961	3.739	3.762
24	Hong Kong`HKG`Eastern Asia	0.960	3.844	3.639
25	Malta`MLT`Southern Europe	0.957	3.766	3.699
=26	Austria`AUT`Western Europe	0.955	3.899	3.468
=26	Canada`CAN`Northern America	0.955	3.898	3.448
=28	Singapore`SGP`South-eastern Asia	0.953	3.906	3.414
=28	Slovenia`SVN`Southern Europe	0.953	3.894	3.418
30	Romania`ROU`Eastern Europe	0.949	3.942	3.199
=31	Ghana`GHA`Western Africa	0.948	3.676	3.681
=31	Hungary`HUN`Eastern Europe	0.948	3.930	3.243
33	Mauritius`MUS`Eastern Africa	0.945	3.855	3.424
34	Trinidad and Tobago`TTO`Caribbean	0.944	3.876	3.327
=35	Lithuania`LTU`Northern Europe	0.942	3.893	3.291
=35	United States`USA`Northern America	0.942	3.801	3.485
37	Cabo Verde`CPV`Western Africa	0.941	3.812	3.445
38	Chile`CHL`South America	0.939	3.851	3.345
39	Vanuatu`VUT`Melanesia	0.938	3.877	3.255
40	São Tomé and Príncipe`STP`Middle Africa	0.933	3.732	3.458
41	Panama`PAN`Central America	0.932	3.806	3.352
42	Italy`ITA`Southern Europe	0.926	3.717	3.410
43	Latvia`LVA`Northern Europe	0.921	3.731	3.325
44	Bulgaria`BGR`Eastern Europe	0.920	3.434	3.639
45	Barbados`BRB`Caribbean	0.919	3.839	3.112
46	South Korea`KOR`Eastern Asia	0.916	3.729	3.265
47	Fiji`FJI`Melanesia	0.913	3.571	3.427
48	Bolivia`BOL`South America	0.903	3.549	3.366
49	Slovakia`SVK`Eastern Europe	0.900	3.255	3.593
=50	Argentina`ARG`South America	0.897	3.679	3.160
=50	Botswana`BWA`Southern Africa	0.897	3.610	3.246
=52	Croatia`HRV`Southern Europe	0.892	3.713	3.051
=52	Namibia`NAM`Southern Africa	0.892	3.811	2.855
54	Solomon Islands`SLB`Melanesia	0.891	3.437	3.374
55	United Kingdom`GBR`Northern Europe	0.889	3.107	3.603
56	Cyprus`CYP`Western Asia	0.886	3.814	2.826
57	Haiti`HTI`Caribbean	0.876	3.478	3.186
58	Suriname`SUR`South America	0.875	3.528	3.125
59	Mongolia`MNG`Eastern Asia	0.874	3.538	3.122
60	Taiwan`TWN`Eastern Asia	0.870	3.473	3.168
61	Nicaragua`NIC`Central America	0.866	3.256	3.344
62	Jamaica`JAM`Caribbean	0.852	3.394	3.091
63	Dominican Republic`DOM`Caribbean	0.847	3.708	2.615
64	Gabon`GAB`Middle Africa	0.845	3.634	2.717
65	Ecuador`ECU`South America	0.843	3.340	3.058
66	Qatar`QAT`Western Asia	0.835	3.448	2.898
67	Venezuela`VEN`South America	0.834	3.244	3.109
68	Israel`ISR`Western Asia	0.831	3.628	2.581
69	South Africa`ZAF`Southern Africa	0.830	3.186	3.128
70	Benin`BEN`Western Africa	0.827	3.328	2.961
71	Papua New Guinea`PNG`Melanesia	0.811	3.343	2.815
72	Tanzania`TZA`Eastern Africa	0.799	3.339	2.731
73	Somaliland`XSL`Eastern Africa	0.789	3.334	2.663
74	Seychelles`SYC`Eastern Africa	0.788	3.032	2.965
75	Bosnia and Herzegovina`BIH`Southern Europe	0.780	2.875	3.047
76	Paraguay`PRY`South America	0.776	2.727	3.138
77	India`IND`Southern Asia	0.764	3.395	2.399
78	El Salvador`SLV`Central America	0.759	3.317	2.450
79	Senegal`SEN`Western Africa	0.739	3.428	2.164
80	Moldova`MDA`Eastern Europe	0.738	3.087	2.539
81	Kuwait`KWT`Western Asia	0.737	3.463	2.053
82	Niger`NER`Western Africa	0.726	2.888	2.696
83	Guyana`GUY`South America	0.713	2.980	2.511
84	North Macedonia`MKD`Southern Europe	0.711	3.087	2.395
85	Jordan`JOR`Western Asia	0.710	3.177	2.274
86	Malaysia`MYS`South-eastern Asia	0.708	2.984	2.443
=87	Albania`ALB`Southern Europe	0.699	2.545	2.802
=87	United Arab Emirates`ARE`Western Asia	0.699	3.339	1.958
=89	Djibouti`DJI`Eastern Africa	0.687	2.649	2.617
=89	Lesotho`LSO`Southern Africa	0.687	2.829	2.463
91	Oman`OMN`Western Asia	0.683	2.937	2.349
=92	Thailand`THA`South-eastern Asia	0.675	3.106	2.103
=92	Zambia`ZMB`Eastern Africa	0.675	2.824	2.437
94	Serbia`SRB`Southern Europe	0.670	2.698	2.503
95	Bhutan`BTN`Southern Asia	0.657	2.941	2.132
96	Mali`MLI`Western Africa	0.646	2.048	2.874
97	Mozambique`MOZ`Eastern Africa	0.644	3.205	1.760
98	Belarus`BLR`Eastern Europe	0.618	3.597	1.015
99	Brazil`BRA`South America	0.611	2.651	2.146
100	Vietnam`VNM`South-eastern Asia	0.610	3.208	1.511
101	Côte d’Ivoire`CIV`Western Africa	0.607	2.632	2.125
=102	Honduras`HND`Central America	0.600	2.591	2.134
=102	Madagascar`MDG`Eastern Africa	0.600	2.378	2.314
104	Russia`RUS`Eastern Europe	0.588	2.621	2.023
105	Philippines`PHL`South-eastern Asia	0.575	2.314	2.226
106	Nepal`NPL`Southern Asia	0.574	2.515	2.040
107	Kyrgyzstan`KGZ`Central Asia	0.565	2.814	1.662
108	Kazakhstan`KAZ`Central Asia	0.553	2.912	1.473
109	Mexico`MEX`Central America	0.549	2.730	1.631
110	Ukraine`UKR`Eastern Europe	0.545	2.425	1.946
111	Cuba`CUB`Caribbean	0.543	3.244	1.058
112	Mauritania`MRT`Western Africa	0.528	2.820	1.449
113	Sri Lanka`LKA`Southern Asia	0.524	2.083	2.092
114	Maldives`MDV`Southern Asia	0.494	3.287	0.713
115	Uzbekistan`UZB`Central Asia	0.485	2.873	1.108
=116	Central African Republic`CAF`Middle Africa	0.484	1.293	2.560
=116	Lebanon`LBN`Western Asia	0.484	2.437	1.500
118	Cameroon`CMR`Middle Africa	0.479	2.648	1.263
119	Armenia`ARM`Western Asia	0.474	2.646	1.236
120	Comoros`COM`Eastern Africa	0.444	1.985	1.657
121	Bangladesh`BGD`Southern Asia	0.443	1.549	2.079
122	Georgia`GEO`Western Asia	0.440	2.609	1.067
=123	China`CHN`Eastern Asia	0.428	2.338	1.231
=123	Guinea-Bissau`GNB`Western Africa	0.428	1.629	1.886
125	Malawi`MWI`Eastern Africa	0.421	1.550	1.888
126	Algeria`DZA`Northern Africa	0.414	2.023	1.403
127	Uganda`UGA`Eastern Africa	0.395	1.795	1.496
128	Eswatini`SWZ`Southern Africa	0.392	2.176	1.168
129	Colombia`COL`South America	0.389	1.572	1.654
130	Yemen`YEM`Western Asia	0.377	1.296	1.835
131	Morocco`MAR`Northern Africa	0.376	2.204	1.012
132	Türkiye`TUR`Western Asia	0.364	1.856	1.223
133	Guatemala`GTM`Central America	0.353	1.339	1.617
134	Bahrain`BHR`Western Asia	0.339	1.933	1.044
135	Azerbaijan`AZE`Western Asia	0.333	2.718	0.424
136	Saudi Arabia`SAU`Western Asia	0.314	1.752	0.993
137	Ethiopia`ETH`Eastern Africa	0.311	1.504	1.181
138	Pakistan`PAK`Southern Asia	0.292	1.278	1.238
139	Zimbabwe`ZWE`Eastern Africa	0.280	1.458	1.003
140	Guinea`GIN`Western Africa	0.276	1.614	0.847
141	Tajikistan`TJK`Central Asia	0.263	1.426	0.942
142	Tunisia`TUN`Northern Africa	0.258	1.894	0.556
143	Eritrea`ERI`Eastern Africa	0.256	1.003	1.248
144	Cambodia`KHM`South-eastern Asia	0.252	0.669	1.570
145	Burkina Faso`BFA`Western Africa	0.240	0.978	1.143
=146	Burundi`BDI`Eastern Africa	0.223	0.699	1.288
=146	Togo`TGO`Western Africa	0.223	1.270	0.764
148	Republic of the Congo`COG`Middle Africa	0.222	0.684	1.282
=149	Egypt`EGY`Northern Africa	0.221	1.380	0.658
=149	Rwanda`RWA`Eastern Africa	0.221	0.976	1.009
151	Sierra Leone`SLE`Western Africa	0.192	0.531	1.270
152	Gambia`GMB`Western Africa	0.191	1.223	0.583
153	Angola`AGO`Middle Africa	0.173	0.952	0.634
154	Equatorial Guinea`GNQ`Middle Africa	0.155	0.892	0.551
155	Chad`TCD`Middle Africa	0.150	0.766	0.643
156	Myanmar`MMR`South-eastern Asia	0.144	0.866	0.493
157	Iran`IRN`Southern Asia	0.142	0.513	0.819
158	DR Congo`COD`Middle Africa	0.135	0.607	0.607
159	Kenya`KEN`Eastern Africa	0.133	0.373	0.909
160	Nigeria`NGA`Western Africa	0.131	0.582	0.598
161	Somalia`SOM`Eastern Africa	0.130	0.310	0.966
162	Timor-Leste`TLS`South-eastern Asia	0.123	0.354	0.818
163	Laos`LAO`South-eastern Asia	0.114	0.328	0.786
164	Peru`PER`South America	0.109	0.562	0.428
165	Libya`LBY`Northern Africa	0.103	0.757	0.272
166	Liberia`LBR`Western Africa	0.099	0.487	0.432
167	Sudan`SDN`Northern Africa	0.096	0.560	0.365
168	Syria`SYR`Western Asia	0.094	0.680	0.259
169	Indonesia`IDN`South-eastern Asia	0.092	0.859	0.175
170	Turkmenistan`TKM`Central Asia	0.083	0.930	0.104
171	Iraq`IRQ`Western Asia	0.057	0.363	0.175
172	North Korea`PRK`Eastern Asia	0.030	0.107	0.145
173	Afghanistan`AFG`Southern Asia	0.022	0.072	0.099

02In 1997

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

173Afghanistan0.022
172North Korea0.030
171Iraq0.057
170Turkmenistan0.083
169Indonesia0.092

A higher value is the better result. The middle country reads 0.699. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

Each measure’s ends

Freedom from political killings (0–4)
HighestCosta Rica3.970
LowestAfghanistan0.072
Middle country: 3.087
Freedom from torture (0–4)
HighestIceland3.929
LowestAfghanistan0.099
Middle country: 2.443

031996 → 1997

Since 1996

What changed between 1996 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

+0 / −0countries joined / left
33values changed, of 173 in both
16 · 17rose · fell
140unchanged

Rose most

Belarus0.437 → 0.618+0.181
Dominican Republic0.702 → 0.847+0.145
Guatemala0.234 → 0.353+0.119
Somaliland0.690 → 0.789+0.099
Sierra Leone0.097 → 0.192+0.095

Fell most

Liberia0.455 → 0.099−0.356
Republic of the Congo0.499 → 0.222−0.277
Cambodia0.349 → 0.252−0.097
Guinea0.361 → 0.276−0.085
Cameroon0.547 → 0.479−0.068

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 1997.
153 distinct values among 173
Values are stored exactly as published, to 3 decimals. 2 countries share 0.989. 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 173 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
173 rows · 6.7 KB · UTF-8, opens in Excel
Opens with 11 lines of source notes; the table starts on row 13.
Download physical-violence-1997-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 (1997). Physical Violence Index, 1997 [data set], describing 1997. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/physical-violence/1997

0636 held

Other years

‹ The year before
Physical Violence Index, 1996
173 countries
The year after ›
Physical Violence Index, 1998
174 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