Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) in Ireland
Ireland: Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) was 105 years in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2025)
105 years
Change on year
up 1.0%
World rank
7th
of 144 countries
All-time high
105 years
in 2025
All-time low
1 years
in 1921
Years of data
105
1921–2025
Age of electoral democracy in Ireland, 1921–2025
Source: Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2025, age of electoral democracy in Ireland stood at 105 years. That is the highest value across all 105 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.0% on the previous year and up 10.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, age of electoral democracy in Ireland peaked at 105 years in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1 years, in 1921.
Ireland ranks 7th 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 Ireland, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1921 | 1 years | — |
| 1922 | 2 years | +100.0% |
| 1923 | 3 years | +50.0% |
| 1924 | 4 years | +33.3% |
| 1925 | 5 years | +25.0% |
| 1926 | 6 years | +20.0% |
| 1927 | 7 years | +16.7% |
| 1928 | 8 years | +14.3% |
| 1929 | 9 years | +12.5% |
| 1930 | 10 years | +11.1% |
| 1931 | 11 years | +10.0% |
| 1932 | 12 years | +9.1% |
| 1933 | 13 years | +8.3% |
| 1934 | 14 years | +7.7% |
| 1935 | 15 years | +7.1% |
| 1936 | 16 years | +6.7% |
| 1937 | 17 years | +6.2% |
| 1938 | 18 years | +5.9% |
| 1939 | 19 years | +5.6% |
| 1940 | 20 years | +5.3% |
| 1941 | 21 years | +5.0% |
| 1942 | 22 years | +4.8% |
| 1943 | 23 years | +4.5% |
| 1944 | 24 years | +4.3% |
| 1945 | 25 years | +4.2% |
| 1946 | 26 years | +4.0% |
| 1947 | 27 years | +3.8% |
| 1948 | 28 years | +3.7% |
| 1949 | 29 years | +3.6% |
| 1950 | 30 years | +3.4% |
| 1951 | 31 years | +3.3% |
| 1952 | 32 years | +3.2% |
| 1953 | 33 years | +3.1% |
| 1954 | 34 years | +3.0% |
| 1955 | 35 years | +2.9% |
| 1956 | 36 years | +2.9% |
| 1957 | 37 years | +2.8% |
| 1958 | 38 years | +2.7% |
| 1959 | 39 years | +2.6% |
| 1960 | 40 years | +2.6% |
| 1961 | 41 years | +2.5% |
| 1962 | 42 years | +2.4% |
| 1963 | 43 years | +2.4% |
| 1964 | 44 years | +2.3% |
| 1965 | 45 years | +2.3% |
| 1966 | 46 years | +2.2% |
| 1967 | 47 years | +2.2% |
| 1968 | 48 years | +2.1% |
| 1969 | 49 years | +2.1% |
| 1970 | 50 years | +2.0% |
| 1971 | 51 years | +2.0% |
| 1972 | 52 years | +2.0% |
| 1973 | 53 years | +1.9% |
| 1974 | 54 years | +1.9% |
| 1975 | 55 years | +1.9% |
| 1976 | 56 years | +1.8% |
| 1977 | 57 years | +1.8% |
| 1978 | 58 years | +1.8% |
| 1979 | 59 years | +1.7% |
| 1980 | 60 years | +1.7% |
| 1981 | 61 years | +1.7% |
| 1982 | 62 years | +1.6% |
| 1983 | 63 years | +1.6% |
| 1984 | 64 years | +1.6% |
| 1985 | 65 years | +1.6% |
| 1986 | 66 years | +1.5% |
| 1987 | 67 years | +1.5% |
| 1988 | 68 years | +1.5% |
| 1989 | 69 years | +1.5% |
| 1990 | 70 years | +1.4% |
| 1991 | 71 years | +1.4% |
| 1992 | 72 years | +1.4% |
| 1993 | 73 years | +1.4% |
| 1994 | 74 years | +1.4% |
| 1995 | 75 years | +1.4% |
| 1996 | 76 years | +1.3% |
| 1997 | 77 years | +1.3% |
| 1998 | 78 years | +1.3% |
| 1999 | 79 years | +1.3% |
| 2000 | 80 years | +1.3% |
| 2001 | 81 years | +1.2% |
| 2002 | 82 years | +1.2% |
| 2003 | 83 years | +1.2% |
| 2004 | 84 years | +1.2% |
| 2005 | 85 years | +1.2% |
| 2006 | 86 years | +1.2% |
| 2007 | 87 years | +1.2% |
| 2008 | 88 years | +1.1% |
| 2009 | 89 years | +1.1% |
| 2010 | 90 years | +1.1% |
| 2011 | 91 years | +1.1% |
| 2012 | 92 years | +1.1% |
| 2013 | 93 years | +1.1% |
| 2014 | 94 years | +1.1% |
| 2015 | 95 years | +1.1% |
| 2016 | 96 years | +1.1% |
| 2017 | 97 years | +1.0% |
| 2018 | 98 years | +1.0% |
| 2019 | 99 years | +1.0% |
| 2020 | 100 years | +1.0% |
| 2021 | 101 years | +1.0% |
| 2022 | 102 years | +1.0% |
| 2023 | 103 years | +1.0% |
| 2024 | 104 years | +1.0% |
| 2025 | 105 years | +1.0% |
Ireland compared with similar countries
- Ireland's 105 years is above the median for high income countries, which is 57 years, 1.8× the median. (54 countries reporting)
- Ireland's 105 years is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 36 years, 2.9× the median. (43 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) in Ireland 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1922 | +100.0% | 1 years | 2 years |
| 1923 | +50.0% | 2 years | 3 years |
| 1924 | +33.3% | 3 years | 4 years |
| 1925 | +25.0% | 4 years | 5 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 5 years | 1 years | 9 years | 9 |
| 1930s | 14.5 years | 10 years | 19 years | 10 |
| 1940s | 24.5 years | 20 years | 29 years | 10 |
| 1950s | 34.5 years | 30 years | 39 years | 10 |
| 1960s | 44.5 years | 40 years | 49 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 54.5 years | 50 years | 59 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 64.5 years | 60 years | 69 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 74.5 years | 70 years | 79 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 84.5 years | 80 years | 89 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 94.5 years | 90 years | 99 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 102.5 years | 100 years | 105 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
More social development data for Ireland
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 137,869 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 69 (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 69 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0251 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 Ireland?
- Age of electoral democracy in Ireland was 105 years in 2025, according to Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest age of electoral democracy recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 105 years in 2025.
- What is the lowest age of electoral democracy recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 years in 1921.
- How does Ireland rank for age of electoral democracy?
- Ireland ranks 7th out of 144 countries with data for 2025.
- Is age of electoral democracy rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Ireland 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 — 105 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of consecutive years in electoral democracy.