Data for 2008

Physical Violence Index, 2008

Name: Physical Violence Index, 2008
Creator: V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg
License: https://v-dem.net/data/the-v-dem-dataset/

2008, as V-Dem Institute’s 2026 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten

Physical Violence Index, 2008 covers 175 countries on 3 measures. 2 countries share the highest reading, 0.989; North Korea is lowest, at 0.030. The middle country reads 0.777. Against 2007, 51 values changed (29 up, 22 down), the same countries are covered.

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Physical Violence Index · Data for 2008

Highest2 countries share it

0.989

LowestNorth Korea

0.030

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

175countries
3measures per country
2008the year it describes
144distinct 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, 2008, 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 175 countries · select a heading to sort

Physical Violence Index, 2008: 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	Czechia`CZE`Eastern Europe	0.986	3.940	3.883
=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
9	Poland`POL`Eastern Europe	0.982	3.932	3.835
10	Belgium`BEL`Western Europe	0.981	3.932	3.826
11	Australia`AUS`Australia and New Zealand	0.980	3.922	3.822
12	Greece`GRC`Southern Europe	0.978	3.953	3.724
=13	Netherlands`NLD`Western Europe	0.977	3.810	3.892
=13	Portugal`PRT`Southern Europe	0.977	3.927	3.759
=13	Uruguay`URY`South America	0.977	3.951	3.681
=16	Estonia`EST`Northern Europe	0.975	3.917	3.742
=16	Switzerland`CHE`Western Europe	0.975	3.929	3.706
18	Costa Rica`CRI`Central America	0.972	3.970	3.507
19	Spain`ESP`Southern Europe	0.969	3.930	3.636
=20	Japan`JPN`Eastern Asia	0.964	3.934	3.510
=20	Serbia`SRB`Southern Europe	0.964	3.884	3.639
=22	France`FRA`Western Europe	0.963	3.860	3.650
=22	Slovakia`SVK`Eastern Europe	0.963	3.895	3.593
=22	Taiwan`TWN`Eastern Asia	0.963	3.929	3.517
=25	Ireland`IRL`Northern Europe	0.962	3.758	3.783
=25	United Kingdom`GBR`Northern Europe	0.962	3.924	3.502
27	Luxembourg`LUX`Western Europe	0.961	3.739	3.762
=28	Hong Kong`HKG`Eastern Asia	0.960	3.844	3.639
=28	Lithuania`LTU`Northern Europe	0.960	3.893	3.554
30	Malta`MLT`Southern Europe	0.957	3.766	3.699
=31	Austria`AUT`Western Europe	0.955	3.899	3.468
=31	Canada`CAN`Northern America	0.955	3.898	3.448
=33	Ghana`GHA`Western Africa	0.953	3.676	3.749
=33	São Tomé and Príncipe`STP`Middle Africa	0.953	3.687	3.739
=33	Singapore`SGP`South-eastern Asia	0.953	3.906	3.414
=36	Croatia`HRV`Southern Europe	0.949	3.790	3.579
=36	Romania`ROU`Eastern Europe	0.949	3.942	3.199
=36	Slovenia`SVN`Southern Europe	0.949	3.894	3.372
=36	South Korea`KOR`Eastern Asia	0.949	3.807	3.567
=40	Latvia`LVA`Northern Europe	0.944	3.851	3.404
=40	Trinidad and Tobago`TTO`Caribbean	0.944	3.876	3.327
42	Bulgaria`BGR`Eastern Europe	0.942	3.663	3.654
43	Cabo Verde`CPV`Western Africa	0.941	3.812	3.445
=44	Hungary`HUN`Eastern Europe	0.938	3.930	3.086
=44	Vanuatu`VUT`Melanesia	0.938	3.877	3.255
=46	Panama`PAN`Central America	0.932	3.806	3.352
=46	Solomon Islands`SLB`Melanesia	0.932	3.668	3.534
48	Mauritius`MUS`Eastern Africa	0.929	3.855	3.187
49	Cyprus`CYP`Western Asia	0.923	3.872	3.088
50	Chile`CHL`South America	0.922	3.748	3.345
51	Barbados`BRB`Caribbean	0.921	3.836	3.112
52	Ecuador`ECU`South America	0.918	3.478	3.574
53	Timor-Leste`TLS`South-eastern Asia	0.917	3.453	3.600
54	United States`USA`Northern America	0.913	3.915	2.807
55	Italy`ITA`Southern Europe	0.912	3.717	3.268
56	Albania`ALB`Southern Europe	0.907	3.674	3.282
57	Argentina`ARG`South America	0.899	3.677	3.188
58	Peru`PER`South America	0.897	3.789	2.995
59	Namibia`NAM`Southern Africa	0.892	3.811	2.860
60	Bolivia`BOL`South America	0.891	3.549	3.267
61	Botswana`BWA`Southern Africa	0.888	3.610	3.160
62	Israel`ISR`Western Asia	0.884	3.628	3.100
63	Bosnia and Herzegovina`BIH`Southern Europe	0.878	3.673	2.966
64	Suriname`SUR`South America	0.875	3.528	3.125
65	Montenegro`MNE`Southern Europe	0.870	3.517	3.103
=66	Mongolia`MNG`Eastern Asia	0.863	3.438	3.154
=66	Paraguay`PRY`South America	0.863	3.373	3.209
68	North Macedonia`MKD`Southern Europe	0.862	3.740	2.719
69	Qatar`QAT`Western Asia	0.861	3.627	2.898
70	Jamaica`JAM`Caribbean	0.852	3.394	3.091
71	Niger`NER`Western Africa	0.848	3.313	3.149
72	Dominican Republic`DOM`Caribbean	0.847	3.708	2.615
73	Gabon`GAB`Middle Africa	0.845	3.634	2.717
74	Liberia`LBR`Western Africa	0.843	3.716	2.571
75	Haiti`HTI`Caribbean	0.840	3.191	3.198
76	South Africa`ZAF`Southern Africa	0.830	3.186	3.128
=77	Benin`BEN`Western Africa	0.826	3.328	2.964
=77	Senegal`SEN`Western Africa	0.826	3.428	2.864
79	Mauritania`MRT`Western Africa	0.819	3.605	2.606
80	Nicaragua`NIC`Central America	0.814	3.129	3.085
81	Bhutan`BTN`Southern Asia	0.812	3.249	2.933
82	Papua New Guinea`PNG`Melanesia	0.811	3.343	2.815
83	Kosovo`XKX`Southern Europe	0.803	3.173	2.942
84	Tanzania`TZA`Eastern Africa	0.801	3.339	2.769
85	Seychelles`SYC`Eastern Africa	0.796	3.032	3.009
=86	El Salvador`SLV`Central America	0.789	3.536	2.408
=86	Somaliland`XSL`Eastern Africa	0.789	3.334	2.663
88	Sierra Leone`SLE`Western Africa	0.777	3.251	2.671
89	Mali`MLI`Western Africa	0.770	2.995	2.874
90	Ukraine`UKR`Eastern Europe	0.769	3.478	2.337
91	Madagascar`MDG`Eastern Africa	0.762	2.906	2.891
92	Moldova`MDA`Eastern Europe	0.759	3.226	2.554
93	Indonesia`IDN`South-eastern Asia	0.747	3.193	2.518
94	Malaysia`MYS`South-eastern Asia	0.734	3.082	2.556
95	Mozambique`MOZ`Eastern Africa	0.730	3.205	2.383
96	Venezuela`VEN`South America	0.729	3.225	2.334
97	Brazil`BRA`South America	0.727	2.909	2.661
98	Algeria`DZA`Northern Africa	0.723	3.065	2.491
99	Kuwait`KWT`Western Asia	0.717	3.463	1.903
100	Honduras`HND`Central America	0.716	2.872	2.633
101	Lesotho`LSO`Southern Africa	0.714	2.800	2.689
=102	Jordan`JOR`Western Asia	0.710	3.177	2.274
=102	Nepal`NPL`Southern Asia	0.710	2.896	2.583
104	Zambia`ZMB`Eastern Africa	0.707	3.003	2.417
105	India`IND`Southern Asia	0.705	3.028	2.399
=106	Fiji`FJI`Melanesia	0.691	3.232	2.075
=106	Maldives`MDV`Southern Asia	0.691	3.506	1.682
=108	Oman`OMN`Western Asia	0.683	2.937	2.349
=108	Türkiye`TUR`Western Asia	0.683	3.196	2.050
110	Morocco`MAR`Northern Africa	0.678	3.395	1.739
111	United Arab Emirates`ARE`Western Asia	0.674	3.339	1.783
112	Belarus`BLR`Eastern Europe	0.668	3.520	1.475
113	Lebanon`LBN`Western Asia	0.624	2.664	2.218
114	Guatemala`GTM`Central America	0.620	2.342	2.487
=115	Burkina Faso`BFA`Western Africa	0.593	2.353	2.298
=115	Vietnam`VNM`South-eastern Asia	0.593	3.104	1.514
117	Malawi`MWI`Eastern Africa	0.583	2.682	1.932
=118	Côte d’Ivoire`CIV`Western Africa	0.582	2.124	2.450
=118	Guyana`GUY`South America	0.582	2.246	2.352
120	Comoros`COM`Eastern Africa	0.580	2.566	2.003
121	Georgia`GEO`Western Asia	0.568	3.226	1.228
122	Guinea-Bissau`GNB`Western Africa	0.557	2.058	2.322
123	Cameroon`CMR`Middle Africa	0.549	2.809	1.565
124	Mexico`MEX`Central America	0.527	2.790	1.421
=125	Cuba`CUB`Caribbean	0.522	3.114	1.058
=125	Kazakhstan`KAZ`Central Asia	0.522	2.830	1.370
127	Philippines`PHL`South-eastern Asia	0.507	1.946	2.111
128	Colombia`COL`South America	0.502	1.702	2.291
129	Djibouti`DJI`Eastern Africa	0.481	1.843	2.006
130	China`CHN`Eastern Asia	0.479	2.675	1.243
131	Eswatini`SWZ`Southern Africa	0.478	3.069	0.840
132	Kenya`KEN`Eastern Africa	0.452	1.241	2.374
133	Kyrgyzstan`KGZ`Central Asia	0.451	2.474	1.242
134	Afghanistan`AFG`Southern Asia	0.445	1.987	1.665
135	Armenia`ARM`Western Asia	0.441	1.552	2.042
=136	Bahrain`BHR`Western Asia	0.433	2.421	1.182
=136	Togo`TGO`Western Africa	0.433	2.613	1.038
138	Thailand`THA`South-eastern Asia	0.431	1.604	1.919
139	Angola`AGO`Middle Africa	0.429	1.998	1.550
140	Cambodia`KHM`South-eastern Asia	0.423	1.932	1.570
141	Russia`RUS`Eastern Europe	0.421	1.923	1.560
142	Uganda`UGA`Eastern Africa	0.384	1.795	1.429
143	Yemen`YEM`Western Asia	0.377	1.296	1.835
144	Azerbaijan`AZE`Western Asia	0.352	2.774	0.468
145	Ethiopia`ETH`Eastern Africa	0.336	1.693	1.181
146	Tajikistan`TJK`Central Asia	0.335	1.618	1.241
147	Central African Republic`CAF`Middle Africa	0.333	1.293	1.515
148	Sri Lanka`LKA`Southern Asia	0.332	1.065	1.771
149	Bangladesh`BGD`Southern Asia	0.289	1.634	0.927
150	Rwanda`RWA`Eastern Africa	0.286	1.321	1.184
151	Guinea`GIN`Western Africa	0.281	1.195	1.234
152	Iraq`IRQ`Western Asia	0.279	1.190	1.252
153	Nigeria`NGA`Western Africa	0.268	1.000	1.354
154	DR Congo`COD`Middle Africa	0.265	1.165	1.151
155	Saudi Arabia`SAU`Western Asia	0.264	1.319	0.993
156	Tunisia`TUN`Northern Africa	0.258	1.894	0.556
157	Pakistan`PAK`Southern Asia	0.248	0.820	1.349
158	Republic of the Congo`COG`Middle Africa	0.206	0.903	0.954
159	Uzbekistan`UZB`Central Asia	0.184	1.658	0.294
160	Syria`SYR`Western Asia	0.179	1.154	0.528
161	Turkmenistan`TKM`Central Asia	0.176	1.492	0.347
162	Equatorial Guinea`GNQ`Middle Africa	0.174	1.076	0.551
163	Egypt`EGY`Northern Africa	0.173	1.258	0.446
164	Burundi`BDI`Eastern Africa	0.171	0.721	0.843
165	Iran`IRN`Southern Asia	0.169	1.060	0.548
166	Sudan`SDN`Northern Africa	0.157	0.824	0.631
167	Gambia`GMB`Western Africa	0.142	1.065	0.349
168	Myanmar`MMR`South-eastern Asia	0.141	0.890	0.451
169	Chad`TCD`Middle Africa	0.135	0.615	0.643
170	Somalia`SOM`Eastern Africa	0.112	0.278	0.797
171	Laos`LAO`South-eastern Asia	0.109	0.328	0.717
172	Libya`LBY`Northern Africa	0.103	0.757	0.272
173	Eritrea`ERI`Eastern Africa	0.054	0.591	0.074
174	Zimbabwe`ZWE`Eastern Africa	0.036	0.205	0.108
175	North Korea`PRK`Eastern Asia	0.030	0.107	0.145

02In 2008

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

175North Korea0.030
174Zimbabwe0.036
173Eritrea0.054
172Libya0.103
171Laos0.109

A higher value is the better result. The middle country reads 0.777. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

Each measure’s ends

Freedom from political killings (0–4)
HighestCosta Rica3.970
LowestNorth Korea0.107
Middle country: 3.251
Freedom from torture (0–4)
HighestIceland3.929
LowestEritrea0.074
Middle country: 2.661

032007 → 2008

Since 2007

What changed between 2007 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

+0 / −0countries joined / left
51values changed, of 175 in both
29 · 22rose · fell
124unchanged

Rose most

Maldives0.417 → 0.691+0.274
Kenya0.387 → 0.452+0.065
Bhutan0.752 → 0.812+0.060
Eswatini0.430 → 0.478+0.048
United States0.866 → 0.913+0.047

Fell most

Armenia0.599 → 0.441−0.158
Guinea0.357 → 0.281−0.076
Mongolia0.906 → 0.863−0.043
Cuba0.561 → 0.522−0.039
Cameroon0.587 → 0.549−0.038

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 2008.
144 distinct values among 175
Values are stored exactly as published, to 3 decimals. 4 countries share 0.949. 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 175 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
175 rows · 6.8 KB · UTF-8, opens in Excel
Opens with 11 lines of source notes; the table starts on row 13.
Download physical-violence-2008-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 (2008). Physical Violence Index, 2008 [data set], describing 2008. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/physical-violence/2008

0636 held

Other years

‹ The year before
Physical Violence Index, 2007
175 countries
The year after ›
Physical Violence Index, 2009
175 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