Data for 2016

Physical Violence Index, 2016

Name: Physical Violence Index, 2016
Creator: V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg
License: https://v-dem.net/data/the-v-dem-dataset/

2016, as V-Dem Institute’s 2026 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten

Physical Violence Index, 2016 covers 176 countries on 3 measures. 2 countries share the highest reading, 0.989; Syria is lowest, at 0.012. The middle country reads 0.787. Against 2015, 88 values changed (36 up, 52 down), the same countries are covered.

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Physical Violence Index · Data for 2016

Highest2 countries share it

0.989

LowestSyria

0.012

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

176countries
3measures per country
2016the 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, 2016, 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, 2016: 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	Norway`NOR`Northern Europe	0.988	3.953	3.896
4	Finland`FIN`Northern Europe	0.987	3.935	3.912
5	New Zealand`NZL`Australia and New Zealand	0.986	3.947	3.888
6	Costa Rica`CRI`Central America	0.982	3.970	3.741
=7	Belgium`BEL`Western Europe	0.981	3.932	3.826
=7	Portugal`PRT`Southern Europe	0.981	3.959	3.752
=7	Switzerland`CHE`Western Europe	0.981	3.929	3.825
=10	Australia`AUS`Australia and New Zealand	0.977	3.922	3.767
=10	Netherlands`NLD`Western Europe	0.977	3.810	3.892
=12	Czechia`CZE`Eastern Europe	0.975	3.940	3.703
=12	Estonia`EST`Northern Europe	0.975	3.917	3.742
=12	Lithuania`LTU`Northern Europe	0.975	3.893	3.784
15	Germany`DEU`Western Europe	0.974	3.954	3.605
=16	Canada`CAN`Northern America	0.971	3.933	3.636
=16	Taiwan`TWN`Eastern Asia	0.971	3.929	3.663
=18	Cyprus`CYP`Western Asia	0.970	3.958	3.531
=18	Denmark`DNK`Northern Europe	0.970	3.954	3.536
=20	Ireland`IRL`Northern Europe	0.969	3.835	3.783
=20	Spain`ESP`Southern Europe	0.969	3.930	3.637
=22	Albania`ALB`Southern Europe	0.964	3.946	3.452
=22	Austria`AUT`Western Europe	0.964	3.899	3.608
=22	Japan`JPN`Eastern Asia	0.964	3.934	3.510
=25	France`FRA`Western Europe	0.963	3.860	3.650
=25	Trinidad and Tobago`TTO`Caribbean	0.963	3.876	3.639
27	Slovenia`SVN`Southern Europe	0.962	3.894	3.580
28	Luxembourg`LUX`Western Europe	0.961	3.739	3.762
29	Romania`ROU`Eastern Europe	0.960	3.942	3.400
30	Poland`POL`Eastern Europe	0.957	3.932	3.389
31	Greece`GRC`Southern Europe	0.955	3.797	3.649
32	United States`USA`Northern America	0.954	3.931	3.339
=33	Hong Kong`HKG`Eastern Asia	0.953	3.844	3.544
=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	Slovakia`SVK`Eastern Europe	0.952	3.895	3.430
37	South Korea`KOR`Eastern Asia	0.951	3.807	3.591
38	Uruguay`URY`South America	0.947	3.951	3.111
=39	Chile`CHL`South America	0.946	3.902	3.312
=39	Croatia`HRV`Southern Europe	0.946	3.597	3.742
=39	Ghana`GHA`Western Africa	0.946	3.744	3.612
=39	Vanuatu`VUT`Melanesia	0.946	3.877	3.398
43	Panama`PAN`Central America	0.944	3.806	3.510
44	Barbados`BRB`Caribbean	0.942	3.839	3.399
45	Cabo Verde`CPV`Western Africa	0.941	3.812	3.445
46	Gabon`GAB`Middle Africa	0.940	3.826	3.412
=47	Malta`MLT`Southern Europe	0.939	3.563	3.699
=47	Timor-Leste`TLS`South-eastern Asia	0.939	3.744	3.526
=49	Hungary`HUN`Eastern Europe	0.938	3.930	3.086
=49	Mauritius`MUS`Eastern Africa	0.938	3.855	3.327
51	Latvia`LVA`Northern Europe	0.935	3.808	3.361
52	Serbia`SRB`Southern Europe	0.927	3.487	3.639
53	United Kingdom`GBR`Northern Europe	0.925	3.867	3.131
54	Peru`PER`South America	0.918	3.798	3.172
55	Solomon Islands`SLB`Melanesia	0.910	3.668	3.313
56	Bolivia`BOL`South America	0.905	3.687	3.220
=57	Bulgaria`BGR`Eastern Europe	0.898	3.668	3.178
=57	Paraguay`PRY`South America	0.898	3.426	3.451
59	Namibia`NAM`Southern Africa	0.897	3.811	2.905
60	Mongolia`MNG`Eastern Asia	0.895	3.776	2.991
=61	Ecuador`ECU`South America	0.894	3.446	3.392
=61	Montenegro`MNE`Southern Europe	0.894	3.619	3.198
63	Israel`ISR`Western Asia	0.893	3.628	3.168
64	Italy`ITA`Southern Europe	0.891	3.717	3.042
65	Georgia`GEO`Western Asia	0.888	3.612	3.170
66	Bosnia and Herzegovina`BIH`Southern Europe	0.885	3.673	3.036
67	Guyana`GUY`South America	0.883	3.431	3.312
68	Botswana`BWA`Southern Africa	0.881	3.633	3.045
69	Benin`BEN`Western Africa	0.870	3.588	3.051
70	Niger`NER`Western Africa	0.860	3.481	3.066
71	Fiji`FJI`Melanesia	0.853	3.865	2.298
72	Jamaica`JAM`Caribbean	0.852	3.254	3.227
73	Dominican Republic`DOM`Caribbean	0.847	3.708	2.615
74	South Africa`ZAF`Southern Africa	0.845	3.081	3.308
75	Seychelles`SYC`Eastern Africa	0.844	3.319	3.100
76	Qatar`QAT`Western Asia	0.839	3.580	2.767
77	Suriname`SUR`South America	0.836	3.484	2.859
78	Argentina`ARG`South America	0.834	3.447	2.900
79	Moldova`MDA`Eastern Europe	0.830	3.416	2.910
=80	Kosovo`XKX`Southern Europe	0.829	3.354	2.961
=80	Somaliland`XSL`Eastern Africa	0.829	3.334	2.964
82	Bhutan`BTN`Southern Asia	0.821	3.366	2.871
83	Senegal`SEN`Western Africa	0.820	3.152	3.086
84	Haiti`HTI`Caribbean	0.816	3.184	2.989
85	Burkina Faso`BFA`Western Africa	0.815	3.237	2.954
86	Côte d’Ivoire`CIV`Western Africa	0.797	3.101	2.970
87	Indonesia`IDN`South-eastern Asia	0.793	3.213	2.839
88	Mali`MLI`Western Africa	0.788	3.279	2.727
89	Armenia`ARM`Western Asia	0.785	3.603	2.255
90	Nepal`NPL`Southern Asia	0.781	3.455	2.474
=91	Papua New Guinea`PNG`Melanesia	0.780	3.309	2.653
=91	Tanzania`TZA`Eastern Africa	0.780	3.191	2.748
93	United Arab Emirates`ARE`Western Asia	0.777	3.490	2.402
94	El Salvador`SLV`Central America	0.776	3.497	2.348
95	Liberia`LBR`Western Africa	0.767	3.224	2.640
96	Lebanon`LBN`Western Asia	0.764	3.396	2.405
97	Nicaragua`NIC`Central America	0.763	3.019	2.803
98	Sri Lanka`LKA`Southern Asia	0.758	3.164	2.634
99	Sierra Leone`SLE`Western Africa	0.752	3.081	2.655
100	Tunisia`TUN`Northern Africa	0.750	2.993	2.745
101	Jordan`JOR`Western Asia	0.737	3.008	2.643
102	Colombia`COL`South America	0.735	2.534	3.033
103	Brazil`BRA`South America	0.727	2.913	2.678
104	Kuwait`KWT`Western Asia	0.726	3.463	1.996
105	Zambia`ZMB`Eastern Africa	0.722	2.797	2.732
106	Madagascar`MDG`Eastern Africa	0.721	2.793	2.727
107	Morocco`MAR`Northern Africa	0.712	3.326	2.084
108	Malaysia`MYS`South-eastern Asia	0.704	3.072	2.338
109	Belarus`BLR`Eastern Europe	0.698	3.599	1.586
110	Malawi`MWI`Eastern Africa	0.697	3.144	2.215
111	North Macedonia`MKD`Southern Europe	0.688	2.930	2.402
=112	Honduras`HND`Central America	0.676	2.620	2.593
=112	Oman`OMN`Western Asia	0.676	2.936	2.300
114	Comoros`COM`Eastern Africa	0.674	3.172	2.003
115	Vietnam`VNM`South-eastern Asia	0.658	3.086	1.993
116	Guinea-Bissau`GNB`Western Africa	0.656	2.606	2.484
117	Mauritania`MRT`Western Africa	0.651	3.582	1.247
118	Guatemala`GTM`Central America	0.629	2.385	2.496
119	Kyrgyzstan`KGZ`Central Asia	0.607	3.440	1.166
120	India`IND`Southern Asia	0.599	2.230	2.458
121	Algeria`DZA`Northern Africa	0.581	1.891	2.629
122	Mozambique`MOZ`Eastern Africa	0.575	2.130	2.378
123	Maldives`MDV`Southern Asia	0.569	2.493	2.011
124	Kazakhstan`KAZ`Central Asia	0.534	2.950	1.313
125	Kenya`KEN`Eastern Africa	0.528	1.812	2.382
126	Cuba`CUB`Caribbean	0.526	3.155	1.040
127	Venezuela`VEN`South America	0.520	2.807	1.373
=128	Guinea`GIN`Western Africa	0.517	2.292	1.861
=128	Mexico`MEX`Central America	0.517	2.780	1.372
=128	Ukraine`UKR`Eastern Europe	0.517	2.356	1.818
131	Eswatini`SWZ`Southern Africa	0.513	3.306	0.795
132	Cameroon`CMR`Middle Africa	0.500	2.822	1.222
133	Myanmar`MMR`South-eastern Asia	0.490	1.971	1.986
134	China`CHN`Eastern Asia	0.480	2.588	1.324
135	Togo`TGO`Western Africa	0.478	2.641	1.292
136	Djibouti`DJI`Eastern Africa	0.458	1.843	1.878
137	Philippines`PHL`South-eastern Asia	0.434	1.607	1.941
138	Lesotho`LSO`Southern Africa	0.432	1.651	1.891
139	Angola`AGO`Middle Africa	0.427	2.075	1.464
140	Azerbaijan`AZE`Western Asia	0.424	2.918	0.691
141	Afghanistan`AFG`Southern Asia	0.403	1.840	1.504
142	Cambodia`KHM`South-eastern Asia	0.375	1.600	1.559
143	Pakistan`PAK`Southern Asia	0.368	1.665	1.425
144	Russia`RUS`Eastern Europe	0.356	1.420	1.571
145	Somalia`SOM`Eastern Africa	0.342	1.444	1.426
146	Central African Republic`CAF`Middle Africa	0.331	1.394	1.424
147	DR Congo`COD`Middle Africa	0.311	1.575	1.103
148	Türkiye`TUR`Western Asia	0.309	2.329	0.543
=149	Saudi Arabia`SAU`Western Asia	0.284	1.291	1.188
=149	Uganda`UGA`Eastern Africa	0.284	1.329	1.132
151	Nigeria`NGA`Western Africa	0.276	1.156	1.263
152	Bahrain`BHR`Western Asia	0.270	1.630	0.803
153	Iraq`IRQ`Western Asia	0.254	1.154	1.092
154	Iran`IRN`Southern Asia	0.247	1.239	0.958
155	Bangladesh`BGD`Southern Asia	0.236	1.093	0.990
156	Ethiopia`ETH`Eastern Africa	0.232	1.315	0.784
157	Thailand`THA`South-eastern Asia	0.208	1.027	0.869
158	Republic of the Congo`COG`Middle Africa	0.178	0.998	0.641
159	Turkmenistan`TKM`Central Asia	0.177	1.373	0.387
160	Equatorial Guinea`GNQ`Middle Africa	0.170	1.144	0.484
161	Chad`TCD`Middle Africa	0.159	0.811	0.643
162	Sudan`SDN`Northern Africa	0.152	1.043	0.425
163	Uzbekistan`UZB`Central Asia	0.150	1.467	0.229
164	Laos`LAO`South-eastern Asia	0.148	0.586	0.763
165	Libya`LBY`Northern Africa	0.145	0.421	0.944
166	Rwanda`RWA`Eastern Africa	0.124	0.509	0.661
167	Gambia`GMB`Western Africa	0.120	1.067	0.223
168	Eritrea`ERI`Eastern Africa	0.106	0.664	0.354
169	Tajikistan`TJK`Central Asia	0.104	0.496	0.467
170	Zimbabwe`ZWE`Eastern Africa	0.094	0.585	0.305
171	South Sudan`SSD`Eastern Africa	0.091	0.305	0.524
172	Yemen`YEM`Western Asia	0.083	0.399	0.363
173	Egypt`EGY`Northern Africa	0.070	0.662	0.129
174	North Korea`PRK`Eastern Asia	0.030	0.107	0.145
175	Burundi`BDI`Eastern Africa	0.027	0.208	0.050
176	Syria`SYR`Western Asia	0.012	0.043	0.041

02In 2016

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
3Norway0.988
4Finland0.987
5New Zealand0.986

Lowest

176Syria0.012
175Burundi0.027
174North Korea0.030
173Egypt0.070
172Yemen0.083

A higher value is the better result. The middle country reads 0.787. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

Each measure’s ends

Freedom from political killings (0–4)
HighestCosta Rica3.970
LowestSyria0.043
Middle country: 3.330
Freedom from torture (0–4)
HighestIceland3.929
LowestSyria0.041
Middle country: 2.747

032015 → 2016

Since 2015

What changed between 2015 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

+0 / −0countries joined / left
88values changed, of 176 in both
36 · 52rose · fell
88unchanged

Rose most

Somalia0.245 → 0.342+0.097
Sri Lanka0.694 → 0.758+0.064
Iraq0.191 → 0.254+0.063
Ukraine0.454 → 0.517+0.063
Venezuela0.472 → 0.520+0.048

Fell most

Türkiye0.499 → 0.309−0.190
Rwanda0.296 → 0.124−0.172
Algeria0.749 → 0.581−0.168
Philippines0.599 → 0.434−0.165
Zambia0.803 → 0.722−0.081

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 2016.
149 distinct values among 176
Values are stored exactly as published, to 3 decimals. 4 countries share 0.946. 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-2016-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 (2016). Physical Violence Index, 2016 [data set], describing 2016. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/physical-violence/2016

0636 held

Other years

‹ The year before
Physical Violence Index, 2015
176 countries
The year after ›
Physical Violence Index, 2017
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