Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) in Iceland
Iceland: Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) was 108 years in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2025)
108 years
Change on year
up 0.9%
World rank
3rd
of 144 countries
All-time high
108 years
in 2025
All-time low
1 years
in 1918
Years of data
108
1918–2025
Age of electoral democracy in Iceland, 1918–2025
Source: Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for age of electoral democracy in Iceland is 108 years, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 108 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.9% on the previous year and up 10.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, age of electoral democracy in Iceland peaked at 108 years in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1 years, in 1918.
Iceland ranks 3rd of 144 countries on this measure, 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 Iceland, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1918 | 1 years | — |
| 1919 | 2 years | +100.0% |
| 1920 | 3 years | +50.0% |
| 1921 | 4 years | +33.3% |
| 1922 | 5 years | +25.0% |
| 1923 | 6 years | +20.0% |
| 1924 | 7 years | +16.7% |
| 1925 | 8 years | +14.3% |
| 1926 | 9 years | +12.5% |
| 1927 | 10 years | +11.1% |
| 1928 | 11 years | +10.0% |
| 1929 | 12 years | +9.1% |
| 1930 | 13 years | +8.3% |
| 1931 | 14 years | +7.7% |
| 1932 | 15 years | +7.1% |
| 1933 | 16 years | +6.7% |
| 1934 | 17 years | +6.2% |
| 1935 | 18 years | +5.9% |
| 1936 | 19 years | +5.6% |
| 1937 | 20 years | +5.3% |
| 1938 | 21 years | +5.0% |
| 1939 | 22 years | +4.8% |
| 1940 | 23 years | +4.5% |
| 1941 | 24 years | +4.3% |
| 1942 | 25 years | +4.2% |
| 1943 | 26 years | +4.0% |
| 1944 | 27 years | +3.8% |
| 1945 | 28 years | +3.7% |
| 1946 | 29 years | +3.6% |
| 1947 | 30 years | +3.4% |
| 1948 | 31 years | +3.3% |
| 1949 | 32 years | +3.2% |
| 1950 | 33 years | +3.1% |
| 1951 | 34 years | +3.0% |
| 1952 | 35 years | +2.9% |
| 1953 | 36 years | +2.9% |
| 1954 | 37 years | +2.8% |
| 1955 | 38 years | +2.7% |
| 1956 | 39 years | +2.6% |
| 1957 | 40 years | +2.6% |
| 1958 | 41 years | +2.5% |
| 1959 | 42 years | +2.4% |
| 1960 | 43 years | +2.4% |
| 1961 | 44 years | +2.3% |
| 1962 | 45 years | +2.3% |
| 1963 | 46 years | +2.2% |
| 1964 | 47 years | +2.2% |
| 1965 | 48 years | +2.1% |
| 1966 | 49 years | +2.1% |
| 1967 | 50 years | +2.0% |
| 1968 | 51 years | +2.0% |
| 1969 | 52 years | +2.0% |
| 1970 | 53 years | +1.9% |
| 1971 | 54 years | +1.9% |
| 1972 | 55 years | +1.9% |
| 1973 | 56 years | +1.8% |
| 1974 | 57 years | +1.8% |
| 1975 | 58 years | +1.8% |
| 1976 | 59 years | +1.7% |
| 1977 | 60 years | +1.7% |
| 1978 | 61 years | +1.7% |
| 1979 | 62 years | +1.6% |
| 1980 | 63 years | +1.6% |
| 1981 | 64 years | +1.6% |
| 1982 | 65 years | +1.6% |
| 1983 | 66 years | +1.5% |
| 1984 | 67 years | +1.5% |
| 1985 | 68 years | +1.5% |
| 1986 | 69 years | +1.5% |
| 1987 | 70 years | +1.4% |
| 1988 | 71 years | +1.4% |
| 1989 | 72 years | +1.4% |
| 1990 | 73 years | +1.4% |
| 1991 | 74 years | +1.4% |
| 1992 | 75 years | +1.4% |
| 1993 | 76 years | +1.3% |
| 1994 | 77 years | +1.3% |
| 1995 | 78 years | +1.3% |
| 1996 | 79 years | +1.3% |
| 1997 | 80 years | +1.3% |
| 1998 | 81 years | +1.2% |
| 1999 | 82 years | +1.2% |
| 2000 | 83 years | +1.2% |
| 2001 | 84 years | +1.2% |
| 2002 | 85 years | +1.2% |
| 2003 | 86 years | +1.2% |
| 2004 | 87 years | +1.2% |
| 2005 | 88 years | +1.1% |
| 2006 | 89 years | +1.1% |
| 2007 | 90 years | +1.1% |
| 2008 | 91 years | +1.1% |
| 2009 | 92 years | +1.1% |
| 2010 | 93 years | +1.1% |
| 2011 | 94 years | +1.1% |
| 2012 | 95 years | +1.1% |
| 2013 | 96 years | +1.1% |
| 2014 | 97 years | +1.0% |
| 2015 | 98 years | +1.0% |
| 2016 | 99 years | +1.0% |
| 2017 | 100 years | +1.0% |
| 2018 | 101 years | +1.0% |
| 2019 | 102 years | +1.0% |
| 2020 | 103 years | +1.0% |
| 2021 | 104 years | +1.0% |
| 2022 | 105 years | +1.0% |
| 2023 | 106 years | +1.0% |
| 2024 | 107 years | +0.9% |
| 2025 | 108 years | +0.9% |
Iceland compared with similar countries
- Iceland's 108 years is above the median for high income countries, which is 57 years, 1.9× the median. (54 countries reporting)
- Iceland's 108 years is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 36 years, 3.0× the median. (43 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) in Iceland 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1919 | +100.0% | 1 years | 2 years |
| 1920 | +50.0% | 2 years | 3 years |
| 1921 | +33.3% | 3 years | 4 years |
| 1922 | +25.0% | 4 years | 5 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 1.5 years | 1 years | 2 years | 2 |
| 1920s | 7.5 years | 3 years | 12 years | 10 |
| 1930s | 17.5 years | 13 years | 22 years | 10 |
| 1940s | 27.5 years | 23 years | 32 years | 10 |
| 1950s | 37.5 years | 33 years | 42 years | 10 |
| 1960s | 47.5 years | 43 years | 52 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 57.5 years | 53 years | 62 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 67.5 years | 63 years | 72 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 77.5 years | 73 years | 82 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 87.5 years | 83 years | 92 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 97.5 years | 93 years | 102 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 105.5 years | 103 years | 108 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
More social development data for Iceland
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 8,459 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 (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 0 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0216 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 Iceland?
- Age of electoral democracy in Iceland was 108 years in 2025, according to Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest age of electoral democracy recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 108 years in 2025.
- What is the lowest age of electoral democracy recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 years in 1918.
- How does Iceland rank for age of electoral democracy?
- Iceland ranks 3rd out of 144 countries with data for 2025.
- Is age of electoral democracy rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Iceland 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 — 108 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of consecutive years in electoral democracy.