Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) in Malta
Malta: Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) was 79 years in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Age of electoral democracy in Malta, 1947–2025
Source: Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
Malta recorded 79 years for age of electoral democracy in 2025. That is the highest value across all 79 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.3% on the previous year and up 14.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, age of electoral democracy in Malta peaked at 79 years in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1 years, in 1947.
Malta ranks 16th of 144 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) in Malta, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1947 | 1 years | — |
| 1948 | 2 years | +100.0% |
| 1949 | 3 years | +50.0% |
| 1950 | 4 years | +33.3% |
| 1951 | 5 years | +25.0% |
| 1952 | 6 years | +20.0% |
| 1953 | 7 years | +16.7% |
| 1954 | 8 years | +14.3% |
| 1955 | 9 years | +12.5% |
| 1956 | 10 years | +11.1% |
| 1957 | 11 years | +10.0% |
| 1958 | 12 years | +9.1% |
| 1959 | 13 years | +8.3% |
| 1960 | 14 years | +7.7% |
| 1961 | 15 years | +7.1% |
| 1962 | 16 years | +6.7% |
| 1963 | 17 years | +6.2% |
| 1964 | 18 years | +5.9% |
| 1965 | 19 years | +5.6% |
| 1966 | 20 years | +5.3% |
| 1967 | 21 years | +5.0% |
| 1968 | 22 years | +4.8% |
| 1969 | 23 years | +4.5% |
| 1970 | 24 years | +4.3% |
| 1971 | 25 years | +4.2% |
| 1972 | 26 years | +4.0% |
| 1973 | 27 years | +3.8% |
| 1974 | 28 years | +3.7% |
| 1975 | 29 years | +3.6% |
| 1976 | 30 years | +3.4% |
| 1977 | 31 years | +3.3% |
| 1978 | 32 years | +3.2% |
| 1979 | 33 years | +3.1% |
| 1980 | 34 years | +3.0% |
| 1981 | 35 years | +2.9% |
| 1982 | 36 years | +2.9% |
| 1983 | 37 years | +2.8% |
| 1984 | 38 years | +2.7% |
| 1985 | 39 years | +2.6% |
| 1986 | 40 years | +2.6% |
| 1987 | 41 years | +2.5% |
| 1988 | 42 years | +2.4% |
| 1989 | 43 years | +2.4% |
| 1990 | 44 years | +2.3% |
| 1991 | 45 years | +2.3% |
| 1992 | 46 years | +2.2% |
| 1993 | 47 years | +2.2% |
| 1994 | 48 years | +2.1% |
| 1995 | 49 years | +2.1% |
| 1996 | 50 years | +2.0% |
| 1997 | 51 years | +2.0% |
| 1998 | 52 years | +2.0% |
| 1999 | 53 years | +1.9% |
| 2000 | 54 years | +1.9% |
| 2001 | 55 years | +1.9% |
| 2002 | 56 years | +1.8% |
| 2003 | 57 years | +1.8% |
| 2004 | 58 years | +1.8% |
| 2005 | 59 years | +1.7% |
| 2006 | 60 years | +1.7% |
| 2007 | 61 years | +1.7% |
| 2008 | 62 years | +1.6% |
| 2009 | 63 years | +1.6% |
| 2010 | 64 years | +1.6% |
| 2011 | 65 years | +1.6% |
| 2012 | 66 years | +1.5% |
| 2013 | 67 years | +1.5% |
| 2014 | 68 years | +1.5% |
| 2015 | 69 years | +1.5% |
| 2016 | 70 years | +1.4% |
| 2017 | 71 years | +1.4% |
| 2018 | 72 years | +1.4% |
| 2019 | 73 years | +1.4% |
| 2020 | 74 years | +1.4% |
| 2021 | 75 years | +1.4% |
| 2022 | 76 years | +1.3% |
| 2023 | 77 years | +1.3% |
| 2024 | 78 years | +1.3% |
| 2025 | 79 years | +1.3% |
Malta compared with similar countries
- Malta's 79 years is above the median for high income countries, which is 57 years, 1.4× the median. (54 countries reporting)
- Malta's 79 years is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 23.5 years, 3.4× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) in Malta 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | +100.0% | 1 years | 2 years |
| 1949 | +50.0% | 2 years | 3 years |
| 1950 | +33.3% | 3 years | 4 years |
| 1951 | +25.0% | 4 years | 5 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940s | 2 years | 1 years | 3 years | 3 |
| 1950s | 8.5 years | 4 years | 13 years | 10 |
| 1960s | 18.5 years | 14 years | 23 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 28.5 years | 24 years | 33 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 38.5 years | 34 years | 43 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 48.5 years | 44 years | 53 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 58.5 years | 54 years | 63 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 68.5 years | 64 years | 73 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 76.5 years | 74 years | 79 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malta
More social development data for Malta
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 8,306 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 11 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % 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 11 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0143 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 Malta?
- Age of electoral democracy in Malta was 79 years in 2025, according to Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest age of electoral democracy recorded in Malta?
- The highest recorded value was 79 years in 2025.
- What is the lowest age of electoral democracy recorded in Malta?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 years in 1947.
- How does Malta rank for age of electoral democracy?
- Malta ranks 16th out of 144 countries with data for 2025.
- Is age of electoral democracy rising or falling in Malta?
- Over the last ten years it is up 14.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Malta 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
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About this data
Number of consecutive years in electoral democracy.