Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) in Kenya
Kenya: Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) was 13 years in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Age of electoral democracy in Kenya, 1963–2025
Source: Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
Kenya recorded 13 years for age of electoral democracy in 2025. That is the highest value across all 20 years on record.
The figure is up 8.3% on the previous year and up 333.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, age of electoral democracy in Kenya peaked at 13 years in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1 years, in 1963.
Kenya ranks 115th of 144 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) in Kenya, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1963 | 1 years | — |
| 2002 | 1 years | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 2 years | +100.0% |
| 2004 | 3 years | +50.0% |
| 2005 | 4 years | +33.3% |
| 2006 | 5 years | +25.0% |
| 2007 | 6 years | +20.0% |
| 2013 | 1 years | -83.3% |
| 2014 | 2 years | +100.0% |
| 2015 | 3 years | +50.0% |
| 2016 | 4 years | +33.3% |
| 2017 | 5 years | +25.0% |
| 2018 | 6 years | +20.0% |
| 2019 | 7 years | +16.7% |
| 2020 | 8 years | +14.3% |
| 2021 | 9 years | +12.5% |
| 2022 | 10 years | +11.1% |
| 2023 | 11 years | +10.0% |
| 2024 | 12 years | +9.1% |
| 2025 | 13 years | +8.3% |
Kenya compared with similar countries
- Kenya's 13 years is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 24 years, 54% of the median. (29 countries reporting)
- Kenya's 13 years is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 14 years, 93% of the median. (30 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) in Kenya 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | -83.3% | 6 years | 1 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1 years | 1 years | 1 years | 1 |
| 2000s | 3.5 years | 1 years | 6 years | 6 |
| 2010s | 4 years | 1 years | 7 years | 7 |
| 2020s | 10.5 years | 8 years | 13 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near Kenya
More social development data for Kenya
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 617,125 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 13,325 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 4 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 4 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0002 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 13,325 (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 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is age of electoral democracy in Kenya?
- Age of electoral democracy in Kenya was 13 years in 2025, according to Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest age of electoral democracy recorded in Kenya?
- The highest recorded value was 13 years in 2025.
- What is the lowest age of electoral democracy recorded in Kenya?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 years in 1963.
- How does Kenya rank for age of electoral democracy?
- Kenya ranks 115th out of 144 countries with data for 2025.
- Is age of electoral democracy rising or falling in Kenya?
- Over the last ten years it is up 333.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Kenya 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 — 20 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of consecutive years in electoral democracy.