Data for 2017

Physical Violence Index, 2017

Name: Physical Violence Index, 2017
Creator: V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg
License: https://v-dem.net/data/the-v-dem-dataset/

2017, as V-Dem Institute’s 2026 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten

Physical Violence Index, 2017 covers 176 countries on 3 measures. 2 countries share the highest reading, 0.989; Syria is lowest, at 0.012. The middle country reads 0.788. Against 2016, 115 values changed (55 up, 60 down), the same countries are covered.

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Physical Violence Index · Data for 2017

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
2017the year it describes
147distinct 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, 2017, 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, 2017: 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	Uruguay`URY`South America	0.980	3.951	3.751
11	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	Taiwan`TWN`Eastern Asia	0.971	3.929	3.663
=17	Cyprus`CYP`Western Asia	0.970	3.958	3.531
=17	Denmark`DNK`Northern Europe	0.970	3.954	3.536
=19	Ireland`IRL`Northern Europe	0.969	3.835	3.783
=19	Spain`ESP`Southern Europe	0.969	3.930	3.637
21	Canada`CAN`Northern America	0.966	3.933	3.547
=22	Austria`AUT`Western Europe	0.964	3.899	3.608
=22	Japan`JPN`Eastern Asia	0.964	3.934	3.510
=22	South Korea`KOR`Eastern Asia	0.964	3.822	3.727
25	France`FRA`Western Europe	0.963	3.860	3.650
=26	Australia`AUS`Australia and New Zealand	0.962	3.922	3.512
=26	Croatia`HRV`Southern Europe	0.962	3.893	3.588
=26	Slovenia`SVN`Southern Europe	0.962	3.894	3.580
29	Luxembourg`LUX`Western Europe	0.961	3.739	3.762
30	Hungary`HUN`Eastern Europe	0.958	3.930	3.405
=31	Albania`ALB`Southern Europe	0.955	3.946	3.309
=31	Greece`GRC`Southern Europe	0.955	3.797	3.649
=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	Cabo Verde`CPV`Western Africa	0.952	3.812	3.611
37	Trinidad and Tobago`TTO`Caribbean	0.950	3.876	3.419
38	United States`USA`Northern America	0.948	3.931	3.239
39	Romania`ROU`Eastern Europe	0.947	3.942	3.174
=40	Chile`CHL`South America	0.946	3.902	3.312
=40	Poland`POL`Eastern Europe	0.946	3.883	3.338
=40	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	Latvia`LVA`Northern Europe	0.932	3.758	3.404
46	Bolivia`BOL`South America	0.928	3.838	3.220
47	Ghana`GHA`Western Africa	0.926	3.557	3.598
48	United Kingdom`GBR`Northern Europe	0.925	3.867	3.131
49	Ecuador`ECU`South America	0.924	3.715	3.392
=50	Benin`BEN`Western Africa	0.921	3.745	3.311
=50	Slovakia`SVK`Eastern Europe	0.921	3.650	3.430
52	Peru`PER`South America	0.918	3.798	3.172
53	Italy`ITA`Southern Europe	0.917	3.717	3.310
54	Timor-Leste`TLS`South-eastern Asia	0.916	3.663	3.365
=55	Gabon`GAB`Middle Africa	0.910	3.776	3.166
=55	Solomon Islands`SLB`Melanesia	0.910	3.668	3.313
57	Bosnia and Herzegovina`BIH`Southern Europe	0.901	3.764	3.036
58	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	Bulgaria`BGR`Eastern Europe	0.894	3.668	3.154
=61	Montenegro`MNE`Southern Europe	0.894	3.619	3.198
63	Israel`ISR`Western Asia	0.893	3.628	3.168
64	Serbia`SRB`Southern Europe	0.890	3.407	3.386
65	Guyana`GUY`South America	0.883	3.431	3.312
=66	Botswana`BWA`Southern Africa	0.881	3.633	3.045
=66	Senegal`SEN`Western Africa	0.881	3.627	3.086
68	Mauritius`MUS`Eastern Africa	0.878	3.535	3.154
69	Georgia`GEO`Western Asia	0.867	3.612	2.967
70	Niger`NER`Western Africa	0.864	3.481	3.111
=71	Jamaica`JAM`Caribbean	0.857	3.254	3.266
=71	Qatar`QAT`Western Asia	0.857	3.496	3.012
73	Fiji`FJI`Melanesia	0.856	3.865	2.324
=74	Dominican Republic`DOM`Caribbean	0.847	3.708	2.615
=74	Nepal`NPL`Southern Asia	0.847	3.688	2.685
76	Seychelles`SYC`Eastern Africa	0.844	3.319	3.100
77	Malta`MLT`Southern Europe	0.838	2.320	3.699
78	Suriname`SUR`South America	0.836	3.484	2.859
79	Liberia`LBR`Western Africa	0.834	3.529	2.794
80	Burkina Faso`BFA`Western Africa	0.831	3.354	2.954
=81	Kosovo`XKX`Southern Europe	0.829	3.354	2.961
=81	Somaliland`XSL`Eastern Africa	0.829	3.231	3.045
83	Bhutan`BTN`Southern Asia	0.816	3.333	2.871
84	South Africa`ZAF`Southern Africa	0.812	3.081	3.089
85	Gambia`GMB`Western Africa	0.803	3.263	2.853
86	Tunisia`TUN`Northern Africa	0.794	3.270	2.776
87	Indonesia`IDN`South-eastern Asia	0.793	3.213	2.839
88	Argentina`ARG`South America	0.789	3.117	2.899
89	Armenia`ARM`Western Asia	0.787	3.514	2.436
90	Moldova`MDA`Eastern Europe	0.786	3.257	2.722
91	Papua New Guinea`PNG`Melanesia	0.780	3.280	2.661
92	United Arab Emirates`ARE`Western Asia	0.777	3.490	2.402
93	Sierra Leone`SLE`Western Africa	0.776	3.039	2.899
94	Côte d’Ivoire`CIV`Western Africa	0.772	2.972	2.910
95	Haiti`HTI`Caribbean	0.768	2.837	2.988
96	Tanzania`TZA`Eastern Africa	0.760	3.033	2.777
97	Morocco`MAR`Northern Africa	0.752	3.326	2.387
98	Malawi`MWI`Eastern Africa	0.751	3.416	2.268
99	Sri Lanka`LKA`Southern Asia	0.749	3.164	2.551
100	North Macedonia`MKD`Southern Europe	0.747	3.094	2.647
101	Zambia`ZMB`Eastern Africa	0.742	2.891	2.769
102	Jordan`JOR`Western Asia	0.737	3.008	2.643
103	Lebanon`LBN`Western Asia	0.732	3.131	2.471
104	Malaysia`MYS`South-eastern Asia	0.731	3.246	2.338
105	Belarus`BLR`Eastern Europe	0.727	3.599	1.804
=106	Colombia`COL`South America	0.721	2.424	3.011
=106	Madagascar`MDG`Eastern Africa	0.721	2.793	2.727
108	Kuwait`KWT`Western Asia	0.713	3.463	1.893
109	Oman`OMN`Western Asia	0.711	3.161	2.300
110	Brazil`BRA`South America	0.708	2.754	2.678
111	El Salvador`SLV`Central America	0.707	3.381	1.975
112	Mali`MLI`Western Africa	0.703	2.983	2.433
113	Comoros`COM`Eastern Africa	0.675	3.172	1.994
114	Algeria`DZA`Northern Africa	0.658	2.426	2.629
115	Guinea-Bissau`GNB`Western Africa	0.656	2.606	2.484
=116	Guatemala`GTM`Central America	0.644	2.507	2.496
=116	Nicaragua`NIC`Central America	0.644	2.705	2.326
118	Cuba`CUB`Caribbean	0.619	3.578	1.040
119	Vietnam`VNM`South-eastern Asia	0.617	3.086	1.685
120	India`IND`Southern Asia	0.616	2.230	2.566
121	Honduras`HND`Central America	0.610	2.449	2.317
122	Mauritania`MRT`Western Africa	0.602	3.481	1.079
123	Kyrgyzstan`KGZ`Central Asia	0.548	3.126	1.207
124	Maldives`MDV`Southern Asia	0.544	2.351	2.011
125	Mozambique`MOZ`Eastern Africa	0.539	2.042	2.229
126	Ukraine`UKR`Eastern Europe	0.537	2.418	1.897
127	Kazakhstan`KAZ`Central Asia	0.531	2.928	1.313
128	Mexico`MEX`Central America	0.517	2.735	1.415
129	Azerbaijan`AZE`Western Asia	0.505	3.012	1.071
=130	Eswatini`SWZ`Southern Africa	0.497	3.222	0.795
=130	Lesotho`LSO`Southern Africa	0.497	2.045	1.960
132	Guinea`GIN`Western Africa	0.496	2.292	1.739
133	Angola`AGO`Middle Africa	0.493	2.463	1.543
=134	China`CHN`Eastern Asia	0.480	2.588	1.324
=134	Myanmar`MMR`South-eastern Asia	0.480	1.890	1.961
136	Togo`TGO`Western Africa	0.478	2.641	1.292
137	Kenya`KEN`Eastern Africa	0.451	1.196	2.417
138	Cameroon`CMR`Middle Africa	0.444	2.684	1.022
139	Pakistan`PAK`Southern Asia	0.426	1.945	1.568
140	Afghanistan`AFG`Southern Asia	0.419	1.897	1.576
141	Uzbekistan`UZB`Central Asia	0.395	2.306	1.064
142	Philippines`PHL`South-eastern Asia	0.391	1.674	1.594
143	Djibouti`DJI`Eastern Africa	0.369	1.800	1.314
144	Somalia`SOM`Eastern Africa	0.360	1.444	1.566
145	Russia`RUS`Eastern Europe	0.356	1.420	1.571
146	Central African Republic`CAF`Middle Africa	0.349	1.549	1.424
147	Türkiye`TUR`Western Asia	0.346	2.408	0.688
148	Venezuela`VEN`South America	0.336	1.804	1.093
149	Cambodia`KHM`South-eastern Asia	0.331	1.256	1.559
150	DR Congo`COD`Middle Africa	0.274	1.517	0.916
151	Iraq`IRQ`Western Asia	0.266	1.226	1.091
152	Uganda`UGA`Eastern Africa	0.264	1.195	1.132
153	Nigeria`NGA`Western Africa	0.259	1.156	1.124
154	Bahrain`BHR`Western Asia	0.246	1.426	0.803
155	Saudi Arabia`SAU`Western Asia	0.245	1.332	0.863
156	Iran`IRN`Southern Asia	0.244	1.239	0.938
157	Bangladesh`BGD`Southern Asia	0.236	1.093	0.990
158	Turkmenistan`TKM`Central Asia	0.218	1.505	0.585
159	Sudan`SDN`Northern Africa	0.216	1.321	0.654
160	Ethiopia`ETH`Eastern Africa	0.204	1.322	0.591
=161	Equatorial Guinea`GNQ`Middle Africa	0.178	1.221	0.484
=161	Thailand`THA`South-eastern Asia	0.178	0.978	0.678
163	Chad`TCD`Middle Africa	0.159	0.811	0.643
164	Laos`LAO`South-eastern Asia	0.158	0.688	0.763
165	Republic of the Congo`COG`Middle Africa	0.147	0.998	0.436
=166	Tajikistan`TJK`Central Asia	0.140	0.706	0.588
=166	Zimbabwe`ZWE`Eastern Africa	0.140	0.752	0.562
168	Eritrea`ERI`Eastern Africa	0.128	0.664	0.533
169	South Sudan`SSD`Eastern Africa	0.098	0.384	0.524
170	Libya`LBY`Northern Africa	0.096	0.195	0.794
171	Rwanda`RWA`Eastern Africa	0.089	0.310	0.527
172	Egypt`EGY`Northern Africa	0.087	0.589	0.254
173	Yemen`YEM`Western Asia	0.054	0.175	0.341
174	Burundi`BDI`Eastern Africa	0.031	0.172	0.100
175	North Korea`PRK`Eastern Asia	0.030	0.107	0.145
176	Syria`SYR`Western Asia	0.012	0.043	0.041

02In 2017

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
175North Korea0.030
174Burundi0.031
173Yemen0.054
172Egypt0.087

A higher value is the better result. The middle country reads 0.788. “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: 3.323
Freedom from torture (0–4)
HighestIceland3.929
LowestSyria0.041
Middle country: 2.786

032016 → 2017

Since 2016

What changed between 2016 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

+0 / −0countries joined / left
115values changed, of 176 in both
55 · 60rose · fell
61unchanged

Rose most

Gambia0.120 → 0.803+0.683
Uzbekistan0.150 → 0.395+0.245
Cuba0.526 → 0.619+0.093
Azerbaijan0.424 → 0.505+0.081
Algeria0.581 → 0.658+0.077

Fell most

Venezuela0.520 → 0.336−0.184
Nicaragua0.763 → 0.644−0.119
Malta0.939 → 0.838−0.101
Djibouti0.458 → 0.369−0.089
Mali0.788 → 0.703−0.085

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 2017.
147 distinct values among 176
Values are stored exactly as published, to 3 decimals. 3 countries share 0.981. 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-2017-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 (2017). Physical Violence Index, 2017 [data set], describing 2017. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/physical-violence/2017

0636 held

Other years

‹ The year before
Physical Violence Index, 2016
176 countries
The year after ›
Physical Violence Index, 2018
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