Data for 2018

Physical Violence Index, 2018

Name: Physical Violence Index, 2018
Creator: V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg
License: https://v-dem.net/data/the-v-dem-dataset/

2018, as V-Dem Institute’s 2026 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten

Physical Violence Index, 2018 covers 176 countries on 3 measures. 2 countries share the highest reading, 0.989; Syria is lowest, at 0.012. The middle country reads 0.820. Against 2017, 116 values changed (64 up, 52 down), the same countries are covered.

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Physical Violence Index · Data for 2018

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
2018the year it describes
152distinct 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, 2018, 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, 2018: 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	Belgium`BEL`Western Europe	0.981	3.932	3.826
=6	Portugal`PRT`Southern Europe	0.981	3.959	3.752
=6	Switzerland`CHE`Western Europe	0.981	3.929	3.825
9	Uruguay`URY`South America	0.980	3.951	3.751
10	Czechia`CZE`Eastern Europe	0.979	3.940	3.749
11	Netherlands`NLD`Western Europe	0.977	3.810	3.892
=12	Estonia`EST`Northern Europe	0.975	3.917	3.742
=12	Lithuania`LTU`Northern Europe	0.975	3.893	3.784
14	Germany`DEU`Western Europe	0.974	3.954	3.605
15	Taiwan`TWN`Eastern Asia	0.971	3.929	3.663
=16	Cyprus`CYP`Western Asia	0.970	3.958	3.531
=16	Denmark`DNK`Northern Europe	0.970	3.954	3.536
18	Spain`ESP`Southern Europe	0.969	3.930	3.637
19	Canada`CAN`Northern America	0.966	3.933	3.547
=20	Austria`AUT`Western Europe	0.964	3.899	3.585
=20	Japan`JPN`Eastern Asia	0.964	3.934	3.510
=20	South Korea`KOR`Eastern Asia	0.964	3.822	3.727
23	France`FRA`Western Europe	0.963	3.860	3.650
=24	Australia`AUS`Australia and New Zealand	0.962	3.922	3.512
=24	Slovenia`SVN`Southern Europe	0.962	3.894	3.580
26	Luxembourg`LUX`Western Europe	0.961	3.739	3.762
27	Hungary`HUN`Eastern Europe	0.958	3.930	3.405
=28	Albania`ALB`Southern Europe	0.955	3.946	3.309
=28	Greece`GRC`Southern Europe	0.955	3.797	3.649
30	Romania`ROU`Eastern Europe	0.954	3.942	3.303
=31	Hong Kong`HKG`Eastern Asia	0.953	3.844	3.544
=31	São Tomé and Príncipe`STP`Middle Africa	0.953	3.687	3.739
=31	Singapore`SGP`South-eastern Asia	0.953	3.906	3.414
34	Cabo Verde`CPV`Western Africa	0.952	3.812	3.611
=35	Ecuador`ECU`South America	0.950	3.770	3.622
=35	Trinidad and Tobago`TTO`Caribbean	0.950	3.876	3.419
=37	Poland`POL`Eastern Europe	0.946	3.883	3.338
=37	Vanuatu`VUT`Melanesia	0.946	3.877	3.378
39	Ireland`IRL`Northern Europe	0.941	3.457	3.783
40	United States`USA`Northern America	0.938	3.931	3.083
41	Croatia`HRV`Southern Europe	0.936	3.893	3.196
42	Latvia`LVA`Northern Europe	0.932	3.758	3.404
=43	Bolivia`BOL`South America	0.928	3.838	3.220
=43	Panama`PAN`Central America	0.928	3.806	3.325
=45	Ghana`GHA`Western Africa	0.926	3.557	3.598
=45	Timor-Leste`TLS`South-eastern Asia	0.926	3.733	3.410
47	United Kingdom`GBR`Northern Europe	0.925	3.867	3.131
=48	Armenia`ARM`Western Asia	0.920	3.821	3.157
=48	Georgia`GEO`Western Asia	0.920	3.872	3.043
50	Peru`PER`South America	0.918	3.798	3.172
51	Italy`ITA`Southern Europe	0.917	3.717	3.310
52	Benin`BEN`Western Africa	0.913	3.745	3.230
=53	Gabon`GAB`Middle Africa	0.910	3.776	3.166
=53	Solomon Islands`SLB`Melanesia	0.910	3.668	3.313
55	Kosovo`XKX`Southern Europe	0.909	3.705	3.249
56	Barbados`BRB`Caribbean	0.904	3.521	3.399
57	Mauritius`MUS`Eastern Africa	0.903	3.535	3.367
58	Paraguay`PRY`South America	0.898	3.674	3.180
59	Namibia`NAM`Southern Africa	0.897	3.811	2.905
60	Mongolia`MNG`Eastern Asia	0.895	3.776	2.983
61	Bulgaria`BGR`Eastern Europe	0.894	3.668	3.154
62	Slovakia`SVK`Eastern Europe	0.891	3.383	3.430
=63	Qatar`QAT`Western Asia	0.887	3.661	3.085
=63	Senegal`SEN`Western Africa	0.887	3.735	2.994
65	Israel`ISR`Western Asia	0.885	3.628	3.098
66	Costa Rica`CRI`Central America	0.884	3.799	2.796
67	Guyana`GUY`South America	0.883	3.431	3.312
68	Botswana`BWA`Southern Africa	0.881	3.633	3.045
69	Dominican Republic`DOM`Caribbean	0.873	3.708	2.846
70	Chile`CHL`South America	0.872	3.558	3.073
=71	Montenegro`MNE`Southern Europe	0.867	3.401	3.198
=71	Seychelles`SYC`Eastern Africa	0.867	3.319	3.289
73	Jamaica`JAM`Caribbean	0.857	3.254	3.266
74	Bhutan`BTN`Southern Asia	0.856	3.333	3.189
75	Niger`NER`Western Africa	0.854	3.524	2.968
76	Fiji`FJI`Melanesia	0.850	3.865	2.253
=77	Burkina Faso`BFA`Western Africa	0.849	3.448	3.007
=77	Malawi`MWI`Eastern Africa	0.849	3.323	3.135
79	Suriname`SUR`South America	0.848	3.484	2.957
80	Somaliland`XSL`Eastern Africa	0.844	3.331	3.095
81	Liberia`LBR`Western Africa	0.838	3.657	2.630
82	Moldova`MDA`Eastern Europe	0.836	3.577	2.722
83	Argentina`ARG`South America	0.835	3.456	2.899
84	Gambia`GMB`Western Africa	0.830	3.295	3.030
85	Zambia`ZMB`Eastern Africa	0.829	3.417	2.866
86	South Africa`ZAF`Southern Africa	0.827	3.081	3.202
87	Malta`MLT`Southern Europe	0.826	2.774	3.398
88	Nepal`NPL`Southern Asia	0.822	3.591	2.597
89	Serbia`SRB`Southern Europe	0.818	2.805	3.344
90	Bosnia and Herzegovina`BIH`Southern Europe	0.813	3.352	2.835
91	Sri Lanka`LKA`Southern Asia	0.807	3.289	2.857
92	Sierra Leone`SLE`Western Africa	0.803	3.217	2.899
93	Malaysia`MYS`South-eastern Asia	0.795	3.594	2.399
94	Papua New Guinea`PNG`Melanesia	0.794	3.354	2.661
95	North Macedonia`MKD`Southern Europe	0.788	3.360	2.647
=96	Côte d’Ivoire`CIV`Western Africa	0.780	3.049	2.910
=96	Morocco`MAR`Northern Africa	0.780	3.474	2.387
98	United Arab Emirates`ARE`Western Asia	0.777	3.490	2.402
99	Belarus`BLR`Eastern Europe	0.774	3.772	1.804
100	Indonesia`IDN`South-eastern Asia	0.773	3.082	2.839
101	Tanzania`TZA`Eastern Africa	0.765	3.041	2.777
102	Honduras`HND`Central America	0.762	3.096	2.713
103	Tunisia`TUN`Northern Africa	0.749	3.024	2.724
104	Haiti`HTI`Caribbean	0.743	2.646	2.988
105	Lebanon`LBN`Western Asia	0.734	3.152	2.471
106	Jordan`JOR`Western Asia	0.726	3.008	2.565
107	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	Kyrgyzstan`KGZ`Central Asia	0.709	3.524	1.777
111	Mali`MLI`Western Africa	0.708	3.029	2.413
112	El Salvador`SLV`Central America	0.682	3.219	2.000
=113	Guatemala`GTM`Central America	0.665	2.652	2.496
=113	Lesotho`LSO`Southern Africa	0.665	2.588	2.558
115	Guinea-Bissau`GNB`Western Africa	0.659	2.490	2.601
116	Algeria`DZA`Northern Africa	0.658	2.426	2.629
117	Brazil`BRA`South America	0.646	2.501	2.509
118	Colombia`COL`South America	0.636	1.793	2.988
119	Comoros`COM`Eastern Africa	0.625	3.172	1.652
120	Vietnam`VNM`South-eastern Asia	0.617	3.086	1.685
121	India`IND`Southern Asia	0.613	2.203	2.566
122	Angola`AGO`Middle Africa	0.610	3.108	1.640
123	Mauritania`MRT`Western Africa	0.591	3.381	1.157
124	Ukraine`UKR`Eastern Europe	0.584	2.340	2.236
125	Maldives`MDV`Southern Asia	0.552	2.655	1.761
126	Cuba`CUB`Caribbean	0.538	3.225	1.040
127	Kenya`KEN`Eastern Africa	0.525	1.719	2.417
128	Ethiopia`ETH`Eastern Africa	0.521	2.362	1.828
129	Mexico`MEX`Central America	0.517	2.735	1.415
130	Togo`TGO`Western Africa	0.501	2.529	1.551
131	Kazakhstan`KAZ`Central Asia	0.490	2.912	1.085
132	Guinea`GIN`Western Africa	0.484	2.107	1.825
=133	Eswatini`SWZ`Southern Africa	0.483	3.029	0.928
=133	Myanmar`MMR`South-eastern Asia	0.483	1.943	1.961
135	Uzbekistan`UZB`Central Asia	0.466	2.445	1.389
136	Mozambique`MOZ`Eastern Africa	0.456	1.899	1.824
137	Cameroon`CMR`Middle Africa	0.434	2.615	1.022
138	Afghanistan`AFG`Southern Asia	0.429	1.897	1.652
139	China`CHN`Eastern Asia	0.418	2.588	0.942
140	Azerbaijan`AZE`Western Asia	0.416	3.103	0.523
141	Djibouti`DJI`Eastern Africa	0.386	1.800	1.429
=142	Pakistan`PAK`Southern Asia	0.372	1.699	1.424
=142	Türkiye`TUR`Western Asia	0.372	2.444	0.790
144	Philippines`PHL`South-eastern Asia	0.366	1.489	1.594
145	Cambodia`KHM`South-eastern Asia	0.365	1.434	1.612
146	Russia`RUS`Eastern Europe	0.347	1.500	1.442
147	Somalia`SOM`Eastern Africa	0.333	1.381	1.434
148	Central African Republic`CAF`Middle Africa	0.328	1.549	1.264
149	DR Congo`COD`Middle Africa	0.291	1.738	0.848
150	Iraq`IRQ`Western Asia	0.281	1.226	1.212
151	Bahrain`BHR`Western Asia	0.279	1.426	1.019
152	Nigeria`NGA`Western Africa	0.259	1.156	1.124
153	Venezuela`VEN`South America	0.246	1.737	0.582
154	Iran`IRN`Southern Asia	0.239	1.340	0.836
155	Uganda`UGA`Eastern Africa	0.221	1.195	0.825
156	Turkmenistan`TKM`Central Asia	0.214	1.560	0.505
157	Bangladesh`BGD`Southern Asia	0.208	0.931	0.934
158	Thailand`THA`South-eastern Asia	0.206	0.978	0.886
159	Republic of the Congo`COG`Middle Africa	0.189	0.998	0.720
160	Equatorial Guinea`GNQ`Middle Africa	0.187	1.340	0.484
161	Rwanda`RWA`Eastern Africa	0.170	1.107	0.527
162	Saudi Arabia`SAU`Western Asia	0.168	0.632	0.882
163	Chad`TCD`Middle Africa	0.166	0.909	0.643
164	Nicaragua`NIC`Central America	0.156	0.790	0.641
165	Laos`LAO`South-eastern Asia	0.154	0.770	0.647
166	Tajikistan`TJK`Central Asia	0.152	0.739	0.667
167	South Sudan`SSD`Eastern Africa	0.143	0.653	0.657
168	Eritrea`ERI`Eastern Africa	0.135	0.855	0.445
169	Zimbabwe`ZWE`Eastern Africa	0.107	0.761	0.305
170	Sudan`SDN`Northern Africa	0.102	0.673	0.323
171	Libya`LBY`Northern Africa	0.095	0.254	0.663
172	Egypt`EGY`Northern Africa	0.091	0.589	0.281
173	Yemen`YEM`Western Asia	0.060	0.258	0.272
174	North Korea`PRK`Eastern Asia	0.030	0.107	0.145
175	Burundi`BDI`Eastern Africa	0.026	0.108	0.100
176	Syria`SYR`Western Asia	0.012	0.043	0.041

02In 2018

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
175Burundi0.026
174North Korea0.030
173Yemen0.060
172Egypt0.091

A higher value is the better result. The middle country reads 0.820. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

Each measure’s ends

Freedom from political killings (0–4)
HighestPortugal3.959
LowestSyria0.043
Middle country: 3.357
Freedom from torture (0–4)
HighestIceland3.929
LowestSyria0.041
Middle country: 2.852

032017 → 2018

Since 2017

What changed between 2017 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

+0 / −0countries joined / left
116values changed, of 176 in both
64 · 52rose · fell
60unchanged

Rose most

Ethiopia0.204 → 0.521+0.317
Lesotho0.497 → 0.665+0.168
Kyrgyzstan0.548 → 0.709+0.161
Honduras0.610 → 0.762+0.152
Armenia0.787 → 0.920+0.133

Fell most

Nicaragua0.644 → 0.156−0.488
Sudan0.216 → 0.102−0.114
Costa Rica0.982 → 0.884−0.098
Venezuela0.336 → 0.246−0.090
Azerbaijan0.505 → 0.416−0.089

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 2018.
152 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-2018-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 (2018). Physical Violence Index, 2018 [data set], describing 2018. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/physical-violence/2018

0636 held

Other years

‹ The year before
Physical Violence Index, 2017
176 countries
The year after ›
Physical Violence Index, 2019
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