Age of democracy in Panama
Panama: Age of democracy was 30 years in 2018. ◆ Volatile
Age of democracy in Panama, 1989–2018
Source: Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
Panama recorded 30 years for age of democracy in 2018. That is the highest value across all 30 years on record.
That represents a change of up 3.4% on the previous year and up 50.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, age of democracy in Panama peaked at 30 years in 2018 and was at its lowest, 1 years, in 1989.
Panama ranks 40th 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 Panama, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 1 years | — |
| 1990 | 2 years | +100.0% |
| 1991 | 3 years | +50.0% |
| 1992 | 4 years | +33.3% |
| 1993 | 5 years | +25.0% |
| 1994 | 6 years | +20.0% |
| 1995 | 7 years | +16.7% |
| 1996 | 8 years | +14.3% |
| 1997 | 9 years | +12.5% |
| 1998 | 10 years | +11.1% |
| 1999 | 11 years | +10.0% |
| 2000 | 12 years | +9.1% |
| 2001 | 13 years | +8.3% |
| 2002 | 14 years | +7.7% |
| 2003 | 15 years | +7.1% |
| 2004 | 16 years | +6.7% |
| 2005 | 17 years | +6.2% |
| 2006 | 18 years | +5.9% |
| 2007 | 19 years | +5.6% |
| 2008 | 20 years | +5.3% |
| 2009 | 21 years | +5.0% |
| 2010 | 22 years | +4.8% |
| 2011 | 23 years | +4.5% |
| 2012 | 24 years | +4.3% |
| 2013 | 25 years | +4.2% |
| 2014 | 26 years | +4.0% |
| 2015 | 27 years | +3.8% |
| 2016 | 28 years | +3.7% |
| 2017 | 29 years | +3.6% |
| 2018 | 30 years | +3.4% |
Panama compared with similar countries
- Panama's 30 years is below the median for high income countries, which is 44 years, 68% of the median. (43 countries reporting)
- Panama's 30 years is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 30 years, 1.0× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Age of democracy in Panama 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | +100.0% | 1 years | 2 years |
| 1991 | +50.0% | 2 years | 3 years |
| 1992 | +33.3% | 3 years | 4 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 1 years | 1 years | 1 years | 1 |
| 1990s | 6.5 years | 2 years | 11 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 16.5 years | 12 years | 21 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 26 years | 22 years | 30 years | 9 |
Countries ranked near Panama
- 37 Philippines 32 years compare
- 38 South Korea 31 years compare
- 38 Turkey 31 years compare
- 40 Chile 30 years compare
- 40 Honduras 30 years compare
- 43 Bulgaria 29 years compare
- 43 Gambia 29 years compare
- 43 Germany 29 years compare
- 43 Hungary 29 years compare
- 43 Namibia 29 years compare
- 43 Nicaragua 29 years compare
More social development data for Panama
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 2,694 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 375 (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 0.0001 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 375 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0006 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 Panama?
- Age of democracy in Panama was 30 years in 2018, according to Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest age of democracy recorded in Panama?
- The highest recorded value was 30 years in 2018.
- What is the lowest age of democracy recorded in Panama?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 years in 1989.
- How does Panama rank for age of democracy?
- Panama ranks 40th out of 110 countries with data for 2018.
- Is age of democracy rising or falling in Panama?
- Over the last ten years it is up 50.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Panama 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 — 30 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of consecutive years in a democracy.