Age of democracy in Malaysia
Malaysia: Age of democracy was 1 years in 2018. ◆ Volatile
Age of democracy in Malaysia, 1957–2018
Source: Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2018, age of democracy in Malaysia stood at 1 years. That is the lowest value across all 19 years on record.
The figure is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, age of democracy in Malaysia peaked at 12 years in 1968 and was at its lowest, 1 years, in 1957.
Malaysia ranks 109th of 110 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Age of democracy in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1957 | 1 years | — |
| 1958 | 2 years | +100.0% |
| 1959 | 3 years | +50.0% |
| 1960 | 4 years | +33.3% |
| 1961 | 5 years | +25.0% |
| 1962 | 6 years | +20.0% |
| 1963 | 7 years | +16.7% |
| 1964 | 8 years | +14.3% |
| 1965 | 9 years | +12.5% |
| 1966 | 10 years | +11.1% |
| 1967 | 11 years | +10.0% |
| 1968 | 12 years | +9.1% |
| 2008 | 1 years | -91.7% |
| 2009 | 2 years | +100.0% |
| 2010 | 3 years | +50.0% |
| 2011 | 4 years | +33.3% |
| 2012 | 5 years | +25.0% |
| 2013 | 6 years | +20.0% |
| 2018 | 1 years | -83.3% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 1 years is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 24 years, 4% of the median. (32 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 1 years is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 20 years, 5% of the median. (13 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Age of democracy in Malaysia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | -91.7% | 12 years | 1 years |
| 2018 | -83.3% | 6 years | 1 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 2 years | 1 years | 3 years | 3 |
| 1960s | 8 years | 4 years | 12 years | 9 |
| 2000s | 1.5 years | 1 years | 2 years | 2 |
| 2010s | 3.8 years | 1 years | 6 years | 5 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
More social development data for Malaysia
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 150,164 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 2,477 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 4 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 4 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0001 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 2,477 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0042 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 Malaysia?
- Age of democracy in Malaysia was 1 years in 2018, according to Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest age of democracy recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 12 years in 1968.
- What is the lowest age of democracy recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 years in 1957.
- How does Malaysia rank for age of democracy?
- Malaysia ranks 109th out of 110 countries with data for 2018.
- Is age of democracy rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Malaysia 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 — 19 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of consecutive years in a democracy.