Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) in Australia
Australia: Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) was 125 years in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2025)
125 years
Change on year
up 0.8%
World rank
2nd
of 144 countries
All-time high
125 years
in 2025
All-time low
1 years
in 1901
Years of data
125
1901–2025
Age of electoral democracy in Australia, 1901–2025
Source: Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for age of electoral democracy in Australia is 125 years, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 125 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.8% on the previous year and up 8.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, age of electoral democracy in Australia peaked at 125 years in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1 years, in 1901.
That places Australia 2nd out of 144 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) 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% |
| 2019 | 119 years | +0.8% |
| 2020 | 120 years | +0.8% |
| 2021 | 121 years | +0.8% |
| 2022 | 122 years | +0.8% |
| 2023 | 123 years | +0.8% |
| 2024 | 124 years | +0.8% |
| 2025 | 125 years | +0.8% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 125 years is above the median for high income countries, which is 57 years, 2.2× the median. (54 countries reporting)
- Australia's 125 years is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 45 years, 2.8× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) 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 | 114.5 years | 110 years | 119 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 122.5 years | 120 years | 125 years | 6 |
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 electoral democracy in Australia?
- Age of electoral democracy in Australia was 125 years in 2025, according to Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest age of electoral democracy recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 125 years in 2025.
- What is the lowest age of electoral democracy recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 years in 1901.
- How does Australia rank for age of electoral democracy?
- Australia ranks 2nd out of 144 countries with data for 2025.
- Is age of electoral democracy rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Age of electoral democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 125 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of consecutive years in electoral democracy.