Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) in Benin
Benin: Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) was 28 years in 2018. ◆ Volatile
Age of electoral democracy in Benin, 1991–2018
Source: Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2018, age of electoral democracy in Benin stood at 28 years. That is the highest value across all 28 years on record.
The figure is up 3.7% on the previous year and up 55.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, age of electoral democracy in Benin peaked at 28 years in 2018 and was at its lowest, 1 years, in 1991.
That places Benin 95th out of 144 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 electoral democracy (Lexical Index) in Benin, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 1 years | — |
| 1992 | 2 years | +100.0% |
| 1993 | 3 years | +50.0% |
| 1994 | 4 years | +33.3% |
| 1995 | 5 years | +25.0% |
| 1996 | 6 years | +20.0% |
| 1997 | 7 years | +16.7% |
| 1998 | 8 years | +14.3% |
| 1999 | 9 years | +12.5% |
| 2000 | 10 years | +11.1% |
| 2001 | 11 years | +10.0% |
| 2002 | 12 years | +9.1% |
| 2003 | 13 years | +8.3% |
| 2004 | 14 years | +7.7% |
| 2005 | 15 years | +7.1% |
| 2006 | 16 years | +6.7% |
| 2007 | 17 years | +6.2% |
| 2008 | 18 years | +5.9% |
| 2009 | 19 years | +5.6% |
| 2010 | 20 years | +5.3% |
| 2011 | 21 years | +5.0% |
| 2012 | 22 years | +4.8% |
| 2013 | 23 years | +4.5% |
| 2014 | 24 years | +4.3% |
| 2015 | 25 years | +4.2% |
| 2016 | 26 years | +4.0% |
| 2017 | 27 years | +3.8% |
| 2018 | 28 years | +3.7% |
Benin compared with similar countries
- Benin's 28 years is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 24 years, 1.2× the median. (29 countries reporting)
- Benin's 28 years is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 14 years, 2.0× the median. (30 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) in Benin 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | +100.0% | 1 years | 2 years |
| 1993 | +50.0% | 2 years | 3 years |
| 1994 | +33.3% | 3 years | 4 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 5 years | 1 years | 9 years | 9 |
| 2000s | 14.5 years | 10 years | 19 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 24 years | 20 years | 28 years | 9 |
Countries ranked near Benin
More social development data for Benin
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 16,974 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 1,279 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 4 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (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 1,279 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0011 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 Benin?
- Age of electoral democracy in Benin was 28 years in 2018, according to Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest age of electoral democracy recorded in Benin?
- The highest recorded value was 28 years in 2018.
- What is the lowest age of electoral democracy recorded in Benin?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 years in 1991.
- How does Benin rank for age of electoral democracy?
- Benin ranks 95th out of 144 countries with data for 2018.
- Is age of electoral democracy rising or falling in Benin?
- Over the last ten years it is up 55.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Benin 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 — 28 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of consecutive years in electoral democracy.