Age of democracy in Romania
Romania: Age of democracy was 23 years in 2018. ◆ Volatile
Age of democracy in Romania, 1996–2018
Source: Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
Romania recorded 23 years for age of democracy in 2018. That is the highest value across all 23 years on record.
That represents a change of up 4.5% on the previous year and up 76.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, age of democracy in Romania peaked at 23 years in 2018 and was at its lowest, 1 years, in 1996.
That places Romania 66th out of 110 countries with data for 2018, putting it 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 Romania, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 1 years | — |
| 1997 | 2 years | +100.0% |
| 1998 | 3 years | +50.0% |
| 1999 | 4 years | +33.3% |
| 2000 | 5 years | +25.0% |
| 2001 | 6 years | +20.0% |
| 2002 | 7 years | +16.7% |
| 2003 | 8 years | +14.3% |
| 2004 | 9 years | +12.5% |
| 2005 | 10 years | +11.1% |
| 2006 | 11 years | +10.0% |
| 2007 | 12 years | +9.1% |
| 2008 | 13 years | +8.3% |
| 2009 | 14 years | +7.7% |
| 2010 | 15 years | +7.1% |
| 2011 | 16 years | +6.7% |
| 2012 | 17 years | +6.2% |
| 2013 | 18 years | +5.9% |
| 2014 | 19 years | +5.6% |
| 2015 | 20 years | +5.3% |
| 2016 | 21 years | +5.0% |
| 2017 | 22 years | +4.8% |
| 2018 | 23 years | +4.5% |
Romania compared with similar countries
- Romania's 23 years is below the median for high income countries, which is 44 years, 52% of the median. (43 countries reporting)
- Romania's 23 years is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 29 years, 79% of the median. (40 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Age of democracy in Romania 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | +100.0% | 1 years | 2 years |
| 1998 | +50.0% | 2 years | 3 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 2.5 years | 1 years | 4 years | 4 |
| 2000s | 9.5 years | 5 years | 14 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 19 years | 15 years | 23 years | 9 |
Countries ranked near Romania
More social development data for Romania
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 206,671 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 3,130 (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 0.0002 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 3,130 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0109 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 Romania?
- Age of democracy in Romania was 23 years in 2018, according to Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest age of democracy recorded in Romania?
- The highest recorded value was 23 years in 2018.
- What is the lowest age of democracy recorded in Romania?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 years in 1996.
- How does Romania rank for age of democracy?
- Romania ranks 66th out of 110 countries with data for 2018.
- Is age of democracy rising or falling in Romania?
- Over the last ten years it is up 76.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Romania 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 — 23 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of consecutive years in a democracy.