Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) in Iraq
Iraq: Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) was 21 years in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Age of electoral democracy in Iraq, 2005–2025
Source: Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
Iraq recorded 21 years for age of electoral democracy in 2025. That is the highest value across all 21 years on record.
The figure is up 5.0% on the previous year and up 90.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, age of electoral democracy in Iraq peaked at 21 years in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1 years, in 2005.
Iraq ranks 106th 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 Iraq, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 1 years | — |
| 2006 | 2 years | +100.0% |
| 2007 | 3 years | +50.0% |
| 2008 | 4 years | +33.3% |
| 2009 | 5 years | +25.0% |
| 2010 | 6 years | +20.0% |
| 2011 | 7 years | +16.7% |
| 2012 | 8 years | +14.3% |
| 2013 | 9 years | +12.5% |
| 2014 | 10 years | +11.1% |
| 2015 | 11 years | +10.0% |
| 2016 | 12 years | +9.1% |
| 2017 | 13 years | +8.3% |
| 2018 | 14 years | +7.7% |
| 2019 | 15 years | +7.1% |
| 2020 | 16 years | +6.7% |
| 2021 | 17 years | +6.2% |
| 2022 | 18 years | +5.9% |
| 2023 | 19 years | +5.6% |
| 2024 | 20 years | +5.3% |
| 2025 | 21 years | +5.0% |
Iraq compared with similar countries
- Iraq's 21 years is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 35 years, 60% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Iraq's 21 years is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 23.5 years, 89% of the median. (6 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) in Iraq 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | +100.0% | 1 years | 2 years |
| 2007 | +50.0% | 2 years | 3 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 3 years | 1 years | 5 years | 5 |
| 2010s | 10.5 years | 6 years | 15 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 18.5 years | 16 years | 21 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near Iraq
- 104 Lesotho 24 years compare
- 105 Antigua and Barbuda 22 years compare
- 106 Liberia 21 years compare
- 108 Montenegro 20 years compare
- 108 Nepal 20 years compare
More social development data for Iraq
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 322,345 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 270,671 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 5 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (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 0.0058 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 270,671 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0069 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 Iraq?
- Age of electoral democracy in Iraq was 21 years in 2025, according to Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest age of electoral democracy recorded in Iraq?
- The highest recorded value was 21 years in 2025.
- What is the lowest age of electoral democracy recorded in Iraq?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 years in 2005.
- How does Iraq rank for age of electoral democracy?
- Iraq ranks 106th out of 144 countries with data for 2025.
- Is age of electoral democracy rising or falling in Iraq?
- Over the last ten years it is up 90.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Iraq 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 — 21 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of consecutive years in electoral democracy.