Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) in Ghana
Ghana: Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) was 30 years in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Age of electoral democracy in Ghana, 1969–2025
Source: Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
Ghana recorded 30 years for age of electoral democracy in 2025. That is the highest value across all 35 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 electoral democracy in Ghana peaked at 30 years in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1 years, in 1969.
Ghana ranks 90th 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 Ghana, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1969 | 1 years | — |
| 1970 | 2 years | +100.0% |
| 1971 | 3 years | +50.0% |
| 1979 | 1 years | -66.7% |
| 1980 | 2 years | +100.0% |
| 1996 | 1 years | -50.0% |
| 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% |
| 2019 | 24 years | +4.3% |
| 2020 | 25 years | +4.2% |
| 2021 | 26 years | +4.0% |
| 2022 | 27 years | +3.8% |
| 2023 | 28 years | +3.7% |
| 2024 | 29 years | +3.6% |
| 2025 | 30 years | +3.4% |
Ghana compared with similar countries
- Ghana's 30 years is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 24 years, 1.2× the median. (29 countries reporting)
- Ghana's 30 years is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 14 years, 2.1× the median. (30 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) in Ghana 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | +100.0% | 1 years | 2 years |
| 1980 | +100.0% | 1 years | 2 years |
| 1997 | +100.0% | 1 years | 2 years |
| 1979 | -66.7% | 3 years | 1 years |
| 1996 | -50.0% | 2 years | 1 years |
| 1971 | +50.0% | 2 years | 3 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1 years | 1 years | 1 years | 1 |
| 1970s | 2 years | 1 years | 3 years | 3 |
| 1980s | 2 years | 2 years | 2 years | 1 |
| 1990s | 2.5 years | 1 years | 4 years | 4 |
| 2000s | 9.5 years | 5 years | 14 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 19.5 years | 15 years | 24 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 27.5 years | 25 years | 30 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near Ghana
- 90 Bosnia and Herzegovina 30 years compare
- 90 Dominican Republic 30 years compare
- 90 Taiwan 30 years compare
More social development data for Ghana
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 21,050 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 16,030 (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 0.0005 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 16,030 (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 electoral democracy in Ghana?
- Age of electoral democracy in Ghana was 30 years in 2025, according to Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest age of electoral democracy recorded in Ghana?
- The highest recorded value was 30 years in 2025.
- What is the lowest age of electoral democracy recorded in Ghana?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 years in 1969.
- How does Ghana rank for age of electoral democracy?
- Ghana ranks 90th out of 144 countries with data for 2025.
- Is age of electoral democracy rising or falling in Ghana?
- Over the last ten years it is up 50.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Ghana 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.
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About this data
Number of consecutive years in electoral democracy.