Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) in El Salvador
El Salvador: Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) was 40 years in 2023. ◆ Volatile
Age of electoral democracy in El Salvador, 1984–2023
Source: Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
El Salvador recorded 40 years for age of electoral democracy in 2023. That is the highest value across all 40 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.6% on the previous year and up 33.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, age of electoral democracy in El Salvador peaked at 40 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 1 years, in 1984.
El Salvador ranks 57th of 144 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 electoral democracy (Lexical Index) in El Salvador, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | 1 years | — |
| 1985 | 2 years | +100.0% |
| 1986 | 3 years | +50.0% |
| 1987 | 4 years | +33.3% |
| 1988 | 5 years | +25.0% |
| 1989 | 6 years | +20.0% |
| 1990 | 7 years | +16.7% |
| 1991 | 8 years | +14.3% |
| 1992 | 9 years | +12.5% |
| 1993 | 10 years | +11.1% |
| 1994 | 11 years | +10.0% |
| 1995 | 12 years | +9.1% |
| 1996 | 13 years | +8.3% |
| 1997 | 14 years | +7.7% |
| 1998 | 15 years | +7.1% |
| 1999 | 16 years | +6.7% |
| 2000 | 17 years | +6.2% |
| 2001 | 18 years | +5.9% |
| 2002 | 19 years | +5.6% |
| 2003 | 20 years | +5.3% |
| 2004 | 21 years | +5.0% |
| 2005 | 22 years | +4.8% |
| 2006 | 23 years | +4.5% |
| 2007 | 24 years | +4.3% |
| 2008 | 25 years | +4.2% |
| 2009 | 26 years | +4.0% |
| 2010 | 27 years | +3.8% |
| 2011 | 28 years | +3.7% |
| 2012 | 29 years | +3.6% |
| 2013 | 30 years | +3.4% |
| 2014 | 31 years | +3.3% |
| 2015 | 32 years | +3.2% |
| 2016 | 33 years | +3.1% |
| 2017 | 34 years | +3.0% |
| 2018 | 35 years | +2.9% |
| 2019 | 36 years | +2.9% |
| 2020 | 37 years | +2.8% |
| 2021 | 38 years | +2.7% |
| 2022 | 39 years | +2.6% |
| 2023 | 40 years | +2.6% |
El Salvador compared with similar countries
- El Salvador's 40 years is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 35 years, 1.1× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- El Salvador's 40 years is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 41 years, 98% of the median. (33 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) in El Salvador 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | +100.0% | 1 years | 2 years |
| 1986 | +50.0% | 2 years | 3 years |
| 1987 | +33.3% | 3 years | 4 years |
| 1988 | +25.0% | 4 years | 5 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 3.5 years | 1 years | 6 years | 6 |
| 1990s | 11.5 years | 7 years | 16 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 21.5 years | 17 years | 26 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 31.5 years | 27 years | 36 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 38.5 years | 37 years | 40 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near El Salvador
More social development data for El Salvador
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 182 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 68,182 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 5 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 5 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0107 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 68,182 (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 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is age of electoral democracy in El Salvador?
- Age of electoral democracy in El Salvador was 40 years in 2023, according to Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest age of electoral democracy recorded in El Salvador?
- The highest recorded value was 40 years in 2023.
- What is the lowest age of electoral democracy recorded in El Salvador?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 years in 1984.
- How does El Salvador rank for age of electoral democracy?
- El Salvador ranks 57th out of 144 countries with data for 2023.
- Is age of electoral democracy rising or falling in El Salvador?
- Over the last ten years it is up 33.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this El Salvador 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 — 40 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of consecutive years in electoral democracy.