Statizoid

Age of democracy by country

Number of consecutive years in a democracy.

Countries reporting
108
Highest
171 years
Switzerland
Lowest
1 years
Malaysia
Median
28 years
Years covered
219
1801–2019
Data points
4,915

What the numbers show

Age of democracy is currently reported for 108 countries. The highest value is 171 years in Switzerland; the lowest is 1 years in Malaysia.

The median across all reporting countries is 28 years, and the mean is 35.4 years.

The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 171.

Over the past decade 100 countries rose and 2 fell. The largest increase was in Zambia (up 1,000.0%), and the largest decrease in Thailand (down 75.0%).

Age of democracy: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Switzerland 171 years 2018 up 6.2% volatile
2 United States 155 years 2019 up 6.9% volatile
3 New Zealand 142 years 2018 up 7.6% volatile
4 United Kingdom 139 years 2018 up 7.8% volatile
5 Canada 131 years 2018 up 8.3% volatile
6 Australia 118 years 2018 up 9.3% volatile
7 Sweden 105 years 2018 up 10.5% volatile
9 Belgium 75 years 2018 up 15.4% volatile
9 Finland 75 years 2018 up 15.4% volatile
11 Denmark 74 years 2018 up 15.6% volatile
11 Netherlands 74 years 2018 up 15.6% volatile
11 Norway 74 years 2018 up 15.6% volatile
15 Austria 73 years 2018 up 15.9% volatile
16 Italy 72 years 2018 up 16.1% volatile
17 Israel 71 years 2018 up 16.4% volatile
18 Costa Rica 70 years 2018 up 16.7% volatile
19 Japan 67 years 2018 up 17.5% volatile
20 Colombia 62 years 2018 up 19.2% volatile
21 Jamaica 60 years 2018 up 20.0% volatile
22 France 54 years 2018 up 22.7% volatile
23 Botswana 53 years 2018 up 23.3% volatile
24 India 52 years 2018 up 23.8% volatile
25 Cyprus 51 years 2018 up 24.4% volatile
25 Mauritius 51 years 2018 up 24.4% volatile
27 Venezuela 48 years 2005 up 26.3% volatile
28 Greece 44 years 2018 up 29.4% volatile
29 Portugal 43 years 2018 up 30.3% volatile
30 Spain 41 years 2018 up 32.3% volatile
31 Trinidad and Tobago 38 years 2018 up 35.7% volatile
32 Bolivia 37 years 2018 up 37.0% volatile
33 Argentina 36 years 2018 up 38.5% volatile
34 El Salvador 35 years 2018 up 40.0% volatile
35 Brazil 34 years 2018 up 41.7% volatile
35 Uruguay 34 years 2018 up 41.7% volatile
37 Philippines 32 years 2018 up 45.5% volatile
38 South Korea 31 years 2018 up 47.6% volatile
38 Turkey 31 years 2013 up 47.6% volatile
40 Chile 30 years 2018 up 50.0% volatile
40 Honduras 30 years 2018 up 50.0% volatile
40 Panama 30 years 2018 up 50.0% volatile
43 Bulgaria 29 years 2018 up 52.6% volatile
43 Germany 29 years 2018 up 52.6% volatile
43 Gambia 29 years 1993 up 52.6% volatile
43 Hungary 29 years 2018 up 52.6% volatile
43 Namibia 29 years 2018 up 52.6% volatile
43 Nicaragua 29 years 2018 up 52.6% volatile
49 Benin 28 years 2018 up 55.6% volatile
49 Cape Verde 28 years 2018 up 55.6% volatile
49 Ecuador 28 years 2006 up 55.6% volatile
49 Estonia 28 years 2018 up 55.6% volatile
49 Lithuania 28 years 2018 up 55.6% volatile
49 Latvia 28 years 2018 up 55.6% volatile
49 North Macedonia 28 years 2018 up 55.6% volatile
49 Poland 28 years 2018 up 55.6% volatile
49 Slovenia 28 years 2018 up 55.6% volatile
58 Guyana 27 years 2018 up 58.8% volatile
58 Mongolia 27 years 2018 up 58.8% volatile
58 Paraguay 27 years 2018 up 58.8% volatile
58 South Africa 27 years 2018 up 58.8% volatile
58 Taiwan 27 years 2018 up 58.8% volatile
63 Czechia 26 years 2018 up 62.5% volatile
63 Slovakia 26 years 2018 up 62.5% volatile
65 Moldova 25 years 2018 up 66.7% volatile
66 Dominican Republic 23 years 2018 up 76.9% volatile
66 Guatemala 23 years 2018 up 76.9% volatile
66 Romania 23 years 2018 up 76.9% volatile
69 Mexico 22 years 2018 up 83.3% volatile
70 Lesotho 21 years 2018 up 90.9% volatile
71 Indonesia 20 years 2018 up 100.0% volatile
71 Ukraine 20 years 2013 up 100.0% volatile
73 Croatia 19 years 2018 up 111.1% volatile
73 Senegal 19 years 2018 up 111.1% volatile
75 Ghana 18 years 2018 up 125.0% volatile
75 Peru 18 years 2018 up 125.0% volatile
77 Albania 17 years 2018 up 142.9% volatile
77 Kenya 17 years 2018 up 142.9% volatile
77 East Timor 17 years 2018 up 142.9% volatile
80 Bangladesh 16 years 2006 up 166.7% volatile
81 Georgia 15 years 2018 up 200.0% volatile
81 Malawi 15 years 2018 up 200.0% volatile
81 Solomon Islands 15 years 2018 up 200.0% volatile
81 Serbia 15 years 2018 up 200.0% volatile
85 Comoros 14 years 2017 up 250.0% volatile
85 Lebanon 14 years 2018 up 250.0% volatile
87 Liberia 13 years 2018 up 333.3% volatile
87 Montenegro 13 years 2018 up 333.3% volatile
87 Nepal 13 years 2018 up 333.3% volatile
90 Sierra Leone 12 years 2018 up 500.0% volatile
91 Zambia 11 years 2018 up 1,000.0% volatile
92 Burundi 10 years 2014 up 900.0% volatile
93 Pakistan 9 years 2018 up 800.0% volatile
93 Somalia 9 years 1968 up 800.0% volatile
95 Kyrgyzstan 8 years 2018 up 700.0% volatile
96 Mali 7 years 2011 up 600.0% rising
96 Russia 7 years 2006 up 600.0% rising
98 Tunisia 6 years 2018 up 500.0% rising
99 Guinea-Bissau 5 years 2018 up 25.0% volatile
99 Haiti 5 years 1998 — rising
99 Iraq 5 years 2018 — rising
99 Madagascar 5 years 2018 down 70.6% volatile
99 Niger 5 years 2015 up 150.0% rising
104 Sri Lanka 4 years 2018 up 33.3% volatile
104 Nigeria 4 years 2018 — falling
106 Myanmar 3 years 2018 — volatile
106 Thailand 3 years 2013 down 75.0% volatile
108 Fiji 2 years 2005 up 100.0% volatile
109 Armenia 1 years 2018 — volatile
109 Malaysia 1 years 2018 unchanged volatile

About this data

Indicator
Age of democracy
Unit
years
Source
Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
110 places, 4,915 data points, 1801–2019
Last refreshed

Number of consecutive years in a democracy.