Age of democracy in Brazil
Brazil: Age of democracy was 34 years in 2018. ◆ Volatile
Age of democracy in Brazil, 1946–2018
Source: Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
Brazil recorded 34 years for age of democracy in 2018. That is the highest value across all 38 years on record.
The figure is up 3.0% on the previous year and up 41.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, age of democracy in Brazil peaked at 34 years in 2018 and was at its lowest, 1 years, in 1946.
Brazil ranks 35th of 110 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Age of democracy in Brazil, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1946 | 1 years | — |
| 1958 | 1 years | +0.0% |
| 1959 | 2 years | +100.0% |
| 1960 | 3 years | +50.0% |
| 1985 | 1 years | -66.7% |
| 1986 | 2 years | +100.0% |
| 1987 | 3 years | +50.0% |
| 1988 | 4 years | +33.3% |
| 1989 | 5 years | +25.0% |
| 1990 | 6 years | +20.0% |
| 1991 | 7 years | +16.7% |
| 1992 | 8 years | +14.3% |
| 1993 | 9 years | +12.5% |
| 1994 | 10 years | +11.1% |
| 1995 | 11 years | +10.0% |
| 1996 | 12 years | +9.1% |
| 1997 | 13 years | +8.3% |
| 1998 | 14 years | +7.7% |
| 1999 | 15 years | +7.1% |
| 2000 | 16 years | +6.7% |
| 2001 | 17 years | +6.2% |
| 2002 | 18 years | +5.9% |
| 2003 | 19 years | +5.6% |
| 2004 | 20 years | +5.3% |
| 2005 | 21 years | +5.0% |
| 2006 | 22 years | +4.8% |
| 2007 | 23 years | +4.5% |
| 2008 | 24 years | +4.3% |
| 2009 | 25 years | +4.2% |
| 2010 | 26 years | +4.0% |
| 2011 | 27 years | +3.8% |
| 2012 | 28 years | +3.7% |
| 2013 | 29 years | +3.6% |
| 2014 | 30 years | +3.4% |
| 2015 | 31 years | +3.3% |
| 2016 | 32 years | +3.2% |
| 2017 | 33 years | +3.1% |
| 2018 | 34 years | +3.0% |
Brazil compared with similar countries
- Brazil's 34 years is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 24 years, 1.4× the median. (32 countries reporting)
- Brazil's 34 years is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 30 years, 1.1× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Age of democracy in Brazil 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | +100.0% | 1 years | 2 years |
| 1986 | +100.0% | 1 years | 2 years |
| 1985 | -66.7% | 3 years | 1 years |
| 1960 | +50.0% | 2 years | 3 years |
| 1987 | +50.0% | 2 years | 3 years |
| 1988 | +33.3% | 3 years | 4 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940s | 1 years | 1 years | 1 years | 1 |
| 1950s | 1.5 years | 1 years | 2 years | 2 |
| 1960s | 3 years | 3 years | 3 years | 1 |
| 1980s | 3 years | 1 years | 5 years | 5 |
| 1990s | 10.5 years | 6 years | 15 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 20.5 years | 16 years | 25 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 30 years | 26 years | 34 years | 9 |
Countries ranked near Brazil
- 32 Bolivia 37 years compare
- 33 Argentina 36 years compare
- 34 El Salvador 35 years compare
- 35 Uruguay 34 years compare
- 37 Philippines 32 years compare
- 38 South Korea 31 years compare
- 38 Turkey 31 years compare
More social development data for Brazil
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 278,966 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 6,306 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 2 (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 6,306 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0013 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 Brazil?
- Age of democracy in Brazil was 34 years in 2018, according to Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest age of democracy recorded in Brazil?
- The highest recorded value was 34 years in 2018.
- What is the lowest age of democracy recorded in Brazil?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 years in 1946.
- How does Brazil rank for age of democracy?
- Brazil ranks 35th out of 110 countries with data for 2018.
- Is age of democracy rising or falling in Brazil?
- Over the last ten years it is up 41.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Brazil 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 — 38 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of consecutive years in a democracy.