Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) in Malawi
Malawi: Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) was 32 years in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Age of electoral democracy in Malawi, 1994–2025
Source: Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
Malawi recorded 32 years for age of electoral democracy in 2025. That is the highest value across all 32 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 3.2% on the previous year and up 45.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, age of electoral democracy in Malawi peaked at 32 years in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1 years, in 1994.
Malawi ranks 86th 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 Malawi, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 1 years | — |
| 1995 | 2 years | +100.0% |
| 1996 | 3 years | +50.0% |
| 1997 | 4 years | +33.3% |
| 1998 | 5 years | +25.0% |
| 1999 | 6 years | +20.0% |
| 2000 | 7 years | +16.7% |
| 2001 | 8 years | +14.3% |
| 2002 | 9 years | +12.5% |
| 2003 | 10 years | +11.1% |
| 2004 | 11 years | +10.0% |
| 2005 | 12 years | +9.1% |
| 2006 | 13 years | +8.3% |
| 2007 | 14 years | +7.7% |
| 2008 | 15 years | +7.1% |
| 2009 | 16 years | +6.7% |
| 2010 | 17 years | +6.2% |
| 2011 | 18 years | +5.9% |
| 2012 | 19 years | +5.6% |
| 2013 | 20 years | +5.3% |
| 2014 | 21 years | +5.0% |
| 2015 | 22 years | +4.8% |
| 2016 | 23 years | +4.5% |
| 2017 | 24 years | +4.3% |
| 2018 | 25 years | +4.2% |
| 2019 | 26 years | +4.0% |
| 2020 | 27 years | +3.8% |
| 2021 | 28 years | +3.7% |
| 2022 | 29 years | +3.6% |
| 2023 | 30 years | +3.4% |
| 2024 | 31 years | +3.3% |
| 2025 | 32 years | +3.2% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 32 years is above the median for low income countries, which is 9 years, 3.6× the median. (14 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 32 years is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 14 years, 2.3× the median. (30 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) in Malawi 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | +100.0% | 1 years | 2 years |
| 1996 | +50.0% | 2 years | 3 years |
| 1997 | +33.3% | 3 years | 4 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 3.5 years | 1 years | 6 years | 6 |
| 2000s | 11.5 years | 7 years | 16 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 21.5 years | 17 years | 26 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 29.5 years | 27 years | 32 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More social development data for Malawi
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 35,241 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 551 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate -33.33 % 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 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 551 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0016 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 Malawi?
- Age of electoral democracy in Malawi was 32 years in 2025, according to Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest age of electoral democracy recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 32 years in 2025.
- What is the lowest age of electoral democracy recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 years in 1994.
- How does Malawi rank for age of electoral democracy?
- Malawi ranks 86th out of 144 countries with data for 2025.
- Is age of electoral democracy rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 45.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Malawi 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 — 32 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of consecutive years in electoral democracy.