Age of democracy in Australia
Australia: Age of democracy was 118 years in 2018. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2018)
118 years
Change on year
up 0.9%
World rank
6th
of 110 countries
All-time high
118 years
in 2018
All-time low
1 years
in 1901
Years of data
118
1901–2018
Age of democracy in Australia, 1901–2018
Source: Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
Australia recorded 118 years for age of democracy in 2018. That is the highest value across all 118 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.9% on the previous year and up 9.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, age of democracy in Australia peaked at 118 years in 2018 and was at its lowest, 1 years, in 1901.
Australia ranks 6th of 110 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Age of democracy in Australia, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1901 | 1 years | — |
| 1902 | 2 years | +100.0% |
| 1903 | 3 years | +50.0% |
| 1904 | 4 years | +33.3% |
| 1905 | 5 years | +25.0% |
| 1906 | 6 years | +20.0% |
| 1907 | 7 years | +16.7% |
| 1908 | 8 years | +14.3% |
| 1909 | 9 years | +12.5% |
| 1910 | 10 years | +11.1% |
| 1911 | 11 years | +10.0% |
| 1912 | 12 years | +9.1% |
| 1913 | 13 years | +8.3% |
| 1914 | 14 years | +7.7% |
| 1915 | 15 years | +7.1% |
| 1916 | 16 years | +6.7% |
| 1917 | 17 years | +6.2% |
| 1918 | 18 years | +5.9% |
| 1919 | 19 years | +5.6% |
| 1920 | 20 years | +5.3% |
| 1921 | 21 years | +5.0% |
| 1922 | 22 years | +4.8% |
| 1923 | 23 years | +4.5% |
| 1924 | 24 years | +4.3% |
| 1925 | 25 years | +4.2% |
| 1926 | 26 years | +4.0% |
| 1927 | 27 years | +3.8% |
| 1928 | 28 years | +3.7% |
| 1929 | 29 years | +3.6% |
| 1930 | 30 years | +3.4% |
| 1931 | 31 years | +3.3% |
| 1932 | 32 years | +3.2% |
| 1933 | 33 years | +3.1% |
| 1934 | 34 years | +3.0% |
| 1935 | 35 years | +2.9% |
| 1936 | 36 years | +2.9% |
| 1937 | 37 years | +2.8% |
| 1938 | 38 years | +2.7% |
| 1939 | 39 years | +2.6% |
| 1940 | 40 years | +2.6% |
| 1941 | 41 years | +2.5% |
| 1942 | 42 years | +2.4% |
| 1943 | 43 years | +2.4% |
| 1944 | 44 years | +2.3% |
| 1945 | 45 years | +2.3% |
| 1946 | 46 years | +2.2% |
| 1947 | 47 years | +2.2% |
| 1948 | 48 years | +2.1% |
| 1949 | 49 years | +2.1% |
| 1950 | 50 years | +2.0% |
| 1951 | 51 years | +2.0% |
| 1952 | 52 years | +2.0% |
| 1953 | 53 years | +1.9% |
| 1954 | 54 years | +1.9% |
| 1955 | 55 years | +1.9% |
| 1956 | 56 years | +1.8% |
| 1957 | 57 years | +1.8% |
| 1958 | 58 years | +1.8% |
| 1959 | 59 years | +1.7% |
| 1960 | 60 years | +1.7% |
| 1961 | 61 years | +1.7% |
| 1962 | 62 years | +1.6% |
| 1963 | 63 years | +1.6% |
| 1964 | 64 years | +1.6% |
| 1965 | 65 years | +1.6% |
| 1966 | 66 years | +1.5% |
| 1967 | 67 years | +1.5% |
| 1968 | 68 years | +1.5% |
| 1969 | 69 years | +1.5% |
| 1970 | 70 years | +1.4% |
| 1971 | 71 years | +1.4% |
| 1972 | 72 years | +1.4% |
| 1973 | 73 years | +1.4% |
| 1974 | 74 years | +1.4% |
| 1975 | 75 years | +1.4% |
| 1976 | 76 years | +1.3% |
| 1977 | 77 years | +1.3% |
| 1978 | 78 years | +1.3% |
| 1979 | 79 years | +1.3% |
| 1980 | 80 years | +1.3% |
| 1981 | 81 years | +1.2% |
| 1982 | 82 years | +1.2% |
| 1983 | 83 years | +1.2% |
| 1984 | 84 years | +1.2% |
| 1985 | 85 years | +1.2% |
| 1986 | 86 years | +1.2% |
| 1987 | 87 years | +1.2% |
| 1988 | 88 years | +1.1% |
| 1989 | 89 years | +1.1% |
| 1990 | 90 years | +1.1% |
| 1991 | 91 years | +1.1% |
| 1992 | 92 years | +1.1% |
| 1993 | 93 years | +1.1% |
| 1994 | 94 years | +1.1% |
| 1995 | 95 years | +1.1% |
| 1996 | 96 years | +1.1% |
| 1997 | 97 years | +1.0% |
| 1998 | 98 years | +1.0% |
| 1999 | 99 years | +1.0% |
| 2000 | 100 years | +1.0% |
| 2001 | 101 years | +1.0% |
| 2002 | 102 years | +1.0% |
| 2003 | 103 years | +1.0% |
| 2004 | 104 years | +1.0% |
| 2005 | 105 years | +1.0% |
| 2006 | 106 years | +1.0% |
| 2007 | 107 years | +0.9% |
| 2008 | 108 years | +0.9% |
| 2009 | 109 years | +0.9% |
| 2010 | 110 years | +0.9% |
| 2011 | 111 years | +0.9% |
| 2012 | 112 years | +0.9% |
| 2013 | 113 years | +0.9% |
| 2014 | 114 years | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 115 years | +0.9% |
| 2016 | 116 years | +0.9% |
| 2017 | 117 years | +0.9% |
| 2018 | 118 years | +0.9% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 118 years is above the median for high income countries, which is 44 years, 2.7× the median. (43 countries reporting)
- Australia's 118 years is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 20 years, 5.9× the median. (13 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Age of democracy in Australia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1902 | +100.0% | 1 years | 2 years |
| 1903 | +50.0% | 2 years | 3 years |
| 1904 | +33.3% | 3 years | 4 years |
| 1905 | +25.0% | 4 years | 5 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 5 years | 1 years | 9 years | 9 |
| 1910s | 14.5 years | 10 years | 19 years | 10 |
| 1920s | 24.5 years | 20 years | 29 years | 10 |
| 1930s | 34.5 years | 30 years | 39 years | 10 |
| 1940s | 44.5 years | 40 years | 49 years | 10 |
| 1950s | 54.5 years | 50 years | 59 years | 10 |
| 1960s | 64.5 years | 60 years | 69 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 74.5 years | 70 years | 79 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 84.5 years | 80 years | 89 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 94.5 years | 90 years | 99 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 104.5 years | 100 years | 109 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 114 years | 110 years | 118 years | 9 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More social development data for Australia
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 33,415 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 41 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 1 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 1 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 41 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0012 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is age of democracy in Australia?
- Age of democracy in Australia was 118 years in 2018, according to Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest age of democracy recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 118 years in 2018.
- What is the lowest age of democracy recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 years in 1901.
- How does Australia rank for age of democracy?
- Australia ranks 6th out of 110 countries with data for 2018.
- Is age of democracy rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Age of democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 118 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of consecutive years in a democracy.