Data for 2012

Physical Violence Index, 2012

Name: Physical Violence Index, 2012
Creator: V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg
License: https://v-dem.net/data/the-v-dem-dataset/

2012, as V-Dem Institute’s 2026 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten

Physical Violence Index, 2012 covers 176 countries on 3 measures. 2 countries share the highest reading, 0.989; North Korea is lowest, at 0.030. The middle country reads 0.781. Against 2011, 62 values changed (29 up, 33 down), the same countries are covered.

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Physical Violence Index · Data for 2012

Highest2 countries share it

0.989

LowestNorth Korea

0.030

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

176countries
3measures per country
2012the year it describes
151distinct 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, 2012, 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 176 countries · select a heading to sort

Physical Violence Index, 2012: 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	Costa Rica`CRI`Central America	0.978	3.970	3.649
=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	Lithuania`LTU`Northern Europe	0.973	3.893	3.770
19	Croatia`HRV`Southern Europe	0.972	3.889	3.742
20	Taiwan`TWN`Eastern Asia	0.971	3.929	3.653
21	Ireland`IRL`Northern Europe	0.966	3.799	3.783
22	Greece`GRC`Southern Europe	0.965	3.830	3.729
=23	Japan`JPN`Eastern Asia	0.964	3.934	3.510
=23	Serbia`SRB`Southern Europe	0.964	3.884	3.639
=23	Spain`ESP`Southern Europe	0.964	3.930	3.527
=26	France`FRA`Western Europe	0.963	3.860	3.650
=26	Slovakia`SVK`Eastern Europe	0.963	3.895	3.592
28	Luxembourg`LUX`Western Europe	0.961	3.739	3.762
29	Hong Kong`HKG`Eastern Asia	0.960	3.844	3.639
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	United States`USA`Northern America	0.954	3.931	3.339
=34	Romania`ROU`Eastern Europe	0.953	3.942	3.294
=34	São Tomé and Príncipe`STP`Middle Africa	0.953	3.687	3.739
=34	Singapore`SGP`South-eastern Asia	0.953	3.906	3.414
=34	Slovenia`SVN`Southern Europe	0.953	3.894	3.471
38	Hungary`HUN`Eastern Europe	0.952	3.930	3.302
39	Latvia`LVA`Northern Europe	0.950	3.851	3.504
40	South Korea`KOR`Eastern Asia	0.949	3.807	3.567
41	Trinidad and Tobago`TTO`Caribbean	0.948	3.876	3.391
42	United Kingdom`GBR`Northern Europe	0.947	3.867	3.420
43	Ghana`GHA`Western Africa	0.946	3.744	3.614
=44	Cabo Verde`CPV`Western Africa	0.941	3.812	3.445
=44	Timor-Leste`TLS`South-eastern Asia	0.941	3.765	3.526
46	Vanuatu`VUT`Melanesia	0.938	3.877	3.255
47	Cyprus`CYP`Western Asia	0.933	3.872	3.192
=48	Mauritius`MUS`Eastern Africa	0.932	3.855	3.224
=48	Panama`PAN`Central America	0.932	3.806	3.352
=48	Solomon Islands`SLB`Melanesia	0.932	3.668	3.534
51	Italy`ITA`Southern Europe	0.926	3.717	3.406
52	Chile`CHL`South America	0.922	3.748	3.345
53	Barbados`BRB`Caribbean	0.921	3.836	3.112
54	Albania`ALB`Southern Europe	0.907	3.674	3.282
55	Mongolia`MNG`Eastern Asia	0.906	3.751	3.154
56	Ecuador`ECU`South America	0.901	3.423	3.477
57	Namibia`NAM`Southern Africa	0.897	3.811	2.905
58	Peru`PER`South America	0.896	3.773	2.995
59	Bulgaria`BGR`Eastern Europe	0.893	3.663	3.139
60	Argentina`ARG`South America	0.887	3.578	3.188
=61	Bolivia`BOL`South America	0.884	3.504	3.267
=61	Israel`ISR`Western Asia	0.884	3.628	3.100
63	Gabon`GAB`Middle Africa	0.883	3.615	3.121
64	Montenegro`MNE`Southern Europe	0.881	3.517	3.198
65	Bosnia and Herzegovina`BIH`Southern Europe	0.878	3.673	2.966
66	Suriname`SUR`South America	0.875	3.528	3.125
67	Jamaica`JAM`Caribbean	0.861	3.453	3.091
68	Kosovo`XKX`Southern Europe	0.856	3.329	3.188
69	Paraguay`PRY`South America	0.854	3.297	3.209
=70	Botswana`BWA`Southern Africa	0.853	3.610	2.858
=70	Qatar`QAT`Western Asia	0.853	3.580	2.898
72	Moldova`MDA`Eastern Europe	0.850	3.583	2.861
73	Dominican Republic`DOM`Caribbean	0.847	3.708	2.615
74	Liberia`LBR`Western Africa	0.837	3.695	2.571
75	Niger`NER`Western Africa	0.833	3.456	2.862
76	Senegal`SEN`Western Africa	0.830	3.340	2.966
=77	Haiti`HTI`Caribbean	0.825	3.111	3.149
=77	South Africa`ZAF`Southern Africa	0.825	3.124	3.147
=79	Benin`BEN`Western Africa	0.822	3.288	2.964
=79	Nepal`NPL`Southern Asia	0.822	3.486	2.765
81	Seychelles`SYC`Eastern Africa	0.817	3.083	3.120
82	Bhutan`BTN`Southern Asia	0.815	3.249	2.949
83	Tanzania`TZA`Eastern Africa	0.811	3.339	2.845
84	Sierra Leone`SLE`Western Africa	0.805	3.288	2.858
85	North Macedonia`MKD`Southern Europe	0.803	3.497	2.582
86	Mauritania`MRT`Western Africa	0.790	3.605	2.350
87	Somaliland`XSL`Eastern Africa	0.789	3.334	2.663
88	El Salvador`SLV`Central America	0.782	3.498	2.408
=89	Indonesia`IDN`South-eastern Asia	0.779	3.355	2.588
=89	Papua New Guinea`PNG`Melanesia	0.779	3.280	2.653
91	Mali`MLI`Western Africa	0.773	3.176	2.713
92	Zambia`ZMB`Eastern Africa	0.767	3.003	2.853
93	Armenia`ARM`Western Asia	0.764	3.467	2.318
94	Nicaragua`NIC`Central America	0.763	3.019	2.803
95	Fiji`FJI`Melanesia	0.753	3.500	2.136
96	Algeria`DZA`Northern Africa	0.749	3.171	2.561
97	Malaysia`MYS`South-eastern Asia	0.730	3.048	2.556
98	Jordan`JOR`Western Asia	0.729	3.177	2.407
99	Brazil`BRA`South America	0.727	2.909	2.661
100	Kuwait`KWT`Western Asia	0.726	3.463	1.996
=101	Lesotho`LSO`Southern Africa	0.719	2.871	2.618
=101	Mozambique`MOZ`Eastern Africa	0.719	3.203	2.297
103	United Arab Emirates`ARE`Western Asia	0.712	3.293	2.188
104	Colombia`COL`South America	0.694	2.432	2.858
105	Lebanon`LBN`Western Asia	0.689	2.964	2.362
106	Morocco`MAR`Northern Africa	0.687	3.395	1.821
107	Ukraine`UKR`Eastern Europe	0.685	3.234	2.015
108	Venezuela`VEN`South America	0.676	3.009	2.227
109	India`IND`Southern Asia	0.675	3.028	2.193
110	Oman`OMN`Western Asia	0.665	2.889	2.265
111	Belarus`BLR`Eastern Europe	0.656	3.502	1.411
112	Tunisia`TUN`Northern Africa	0.650	2.486	2.562
113	Côte d’Ivoire`CIV`Western Africa	0.649	2.558	2.482
114	Türkiye`TUR`Western Asia	0.644	2.967	2.045
115	Guyana`GUY`South America	0.642	2.443	2.530
116	Maldives`MDV`Southern Asia	0.623	2.968	1.906
117	Honduras`HND`Central America	0.621	2.720	2.151
118	Guatemala`GTM`Central America	0.620	2.342	2.487
119	Georgia`GEO`Western Asia	0.617	3.388	1.332
120	Philippines`PHL`South-eastern Asia	0.610	2.398	2.375
121	Burkina Faso`BFA`Western Africa	0.607	2.419	2.320
122	Malawi`MWI`Eastern Africa	0.604	2.810	1.924
123	Cuba`CUB`Caribbean	0.598	3.482	1.058
124	Vietnam`VNM`South-eastern Asia	0.595	3.089	1.514
125	Comoros`COM`Eastern Africa	0.580	2.566	2.003
126	Kyrgyzstan`KGZ`Central Asia	0.561	3.251	1.142
127	Cameroon`CMR`Middle Africa	0.554	2.949	1.449
128	Kazakhstan`KAZ`Central Asia	0.523	2.833	1.370
129	Guinea`GIN`Western Africa	0.522	2.319	1.847
130	Sri Lanka`LKA`Southern Asia	0.516	1.981	2.148
131	Thailand`THA`South-eastern Asia	0.515	2.173	1.971
=132	Kenya`KEN`Eastern Africa	0.501	1.654	2.322
=132	Mexico`MEX`Central America	0.501	2.764	1.289
134	Eswatini`SWZ`Southern Africa	0.487	3.174	0.795
135	Madagascar`MDG`Eastern Africa	0.481	2.171	1.774
136	China`CHN`Eastern Asia	0.466	2.682	1.143
137	Yemen`YEM`Western Asia	0.465	1.816	1.948
138	Guinea-Bissau`GNB`Western Africa	0.464	1.845	1.917
139	Djibouti`DJI`Eastern Africa	0.458	1.843	1.878
140	Togo`TGO`Western Africa	0.451	2.571	1.169
141	Afghanistan`AFG`Southern Asia	0.443	1.975	1.659
142	Myanmar`MMR`South-eastern Asia	0.431	1.881	1.683
143	Angola`AGO`Middle Africa	0.429	1.998	1.550
144	Cambodia`KHM`South-eastern Asia	0.428	1.932	1.617
145	Russia`RUS`Eastern Europe	0.407	1.906	1.474
146	DR Congo`COD`Middle Africa	0.361	1.953	1.151
147	Azerbaijan`AZE`Western Asia	0.353	2.774	0.469
148	Ethiopia`ETH`Eastern Africa	0.340	1.729	1.181
149	South Sudan`SSD`Eastern Africa	0.334	1.424	1.414
150	Central African Republic`CAF`Middle Africa	0.328	1.242	1.515
151	Pakistan`PAK`Southern Asia	0.325	1.383	1.415
152	Uganda`UGA`Eastern Africa	0.299	1.605	1.007
153	Rwanda`RWA`Eastern Africa	0.289	1.344	1.181
154	Iraq`IRQ`Western Asia	0.275	1.169	1.245
155	Nigeria`NGA`Western Africa	0.273	1.045	1.339
156	Saudi Arabia`SAU`Western Asia	0.264	1.319	0.993
157	Egypt`EGY`Northern Africa	0.261	1.440	0.877
158	Libya`LBY`Northern Africa	0.242	0.750	1.396
159	Tajikistan`TJK`Central Asia	0.236	1.033	1.063
160	Somalia`SOM`Eastern Africa	0.220	0.782	1.187
161	Bangladesh`BGD`Southern Asia	0.216	0.991	0.949
162	Republic of the Congo`COG`Middle Africa	0.206	0.903	0.954
163	Uzbekistan`UZB`Central Asia	0.184	1.658	0.294
164	Chad`TCD`Middle Africa	0.175	0.994	0.643
165	Bahrain`BHR`Western Asia	0.173	1.194	0.504
166	Turkmenistan`TKM`Central Asia	0.163	1.492	0.261
167	Burundi`BDI`Eastern Africa	0.162	0.596	0.884
168	Equatorial Guinea`GNQ`Middle Africa	0.145	0.889	0.484
169	Gambia`GMB`Western Africa	0.142	1.065	0.349
170	Zimbabwe`ZWE`Eastern Africa	0.122	0.745	0.418
=171	Iran`IRN`Southern Asia	0.113	0.787	0.335
=171	Sudan`SDN`Northern Africa	0.113	0.732	0.350
173	Laos`LAO`South-eastern Asia	0.109	0.328	0.717
174	Eritrea`ERI`Eastern Africa	0.054	0.591	0.074
175	Syria`SYR`Western Asia	0.035	0.241	0.087
176	North Korea`PRK`Eastern Asia	0.030	0.107	0.145

02In 2012

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

176North Korea0.030
175Syria0.035
174Eritrea0.054
173Laos0.109
171Sudanshared0.113

A higher value is the better result. The middle country reads 0.781. “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: 3.332
Freedom from torture (0–4)
HighestIceland3.929
LowestEritrea0.074
Middle country: 2.657

032011 → 2012

Since 2011

What changed between 2011 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

+0 / −0countries joined / left
62values changed, of 176 in both
29 · 33rose · fell
114unchanged

Rose most

Yemen0.321 → 0.465+0.144
Libya0.127 → 0.242+0.115
United Arab Emirates0.629 → 0.712+0.083
Georgia0.547 → 0.617+0.070
Côte d’Ivoire0.585 → 0.649+0.064

Fell most

Maldives0.802 → 0.623−0.179
Guinea-Bissau0.551 → 0.464−0.087
North Macedonia0.867 → 0.803−0.064
Kyrgyzstan0.608 → 0.561−0.047
Bulgaria0.936 → 0.893−0.043

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 2012.
151 distinct values among 176
Values are stored exactly as published, to 3 decimals. 4 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 176 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
176 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-2012-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 (2012). Physical Violence Index, 2012 [data set], describing 2012. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/physical-violence/2012

0636 held

Other years

‹ The year before
Physical Violence Index, 2011
176 countries
The year after ›
Physical Violence Index, 2013
176 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