Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) was 51 years in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Age of electoral democracy in Papua New Guinea, 1975–2025
Source: Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for age of electoral democracy in Papua New Guinea is 51 years, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 51 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.0% on the previous year and up 24.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, age of electoral democracy in Papua New Guinea peaked at 51 years in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1 years, in 1975.
Papua New Guinea ranks 39th 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 Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 1 years | — |
| 1976 | 2 years | +100.0% |
| 1977 | 3 years | +50.0% |
| 1978 | 4 years | +33.3% |
| 1979 | 5 years | +25.0% |
| 1980 | 6 years | +20.0% |
| 1981 | 7 years | +16.7% |
| 1982 | 8 years | +14.3% |
| 1983 | 9 years | +12.5% |
| 1984 | 10 years | +11.1% |
| 1985 | 11 years | +10.0% |
| 1986 | 12 years | +9.1% |
| 1987 | 13 years | +8.3% |
| 1988 | 14 years | +7.7% |
| 1989 | 15 years | +7.1% |
| 1990 | 16 years | +6.7% |
| 1991 | 17 years | +6.2% |
| 1992 | 18 years | +5.9% |
| 1993 | 19 years | +5.6% |
| 1994 | 20 years | +5.3% |
| 1995 | 21 years | +5.0% |
| 1996 | 22 years | +4.8% |
| 1997 | 23 years | +4.5% |
| 1998 | 24 years | +4.3% |
| 1999 | 25 years | +4.2% |
| 2000 | 26 years | +4.0% |
| 2001 | 27 years | +3.8% |
| 2002 | 28 years | +3.7% |
| 2003 | 29 years | +3.6% |
| 2004 | 30 years | +3.4% |
| 2005 | 31 years | +3.3% |
| 2006 | 32 years | +3.2% |
| 2007 | 33 years | +3.1% |
| 2008 | 34 years | +3.0% |
| 2009 | 35 years | +2.9% |
| 2010 | 36 years | +2.9% |
| 2011 | 37 years | +2.8% |
| 2012 | 38 years | +2.7% |
| 2013 | 39 years | +2.6% |
| 2014 | 40 years | +2.6% |
| 2015 | 41 years | +2.5% |
| 2016 | 42 years | +2.4% |
| 2017 | 43 years | +2.4% |
| 2018 | 44 years | +2.3% |
| 2019 | 45 years | +2.3% |
| 2020 | 46 years | +2.2% |
| 2021 | 47 years | +2.2% |
| 2022 | 48 years | +2.1% |
| 2023 | 49 years | +2.1% |
| 2024 | 50 years | +2.0% |
| 2025 | 51 years | +2.0% |
Papua New Guinea compared with similar countries
- Papua New Guinea's 51 years is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 24 years, 2.1× the median. (29 countries reporting)
- Papua New Guinea's 51 years is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 45 years, 1.1× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) in Papua New Guinea 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | +100.0% | 1 years | 2 years |
| 1977 | +50.0% | 2 years | 3 years |
| 1978 | +33.3% | 3 years | 4 years |
| 1979 | +25.0% | 4 years | 5 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 3 years | 1 years | 5 years | 5 |
| 1980s | 10.5 years | 6 years | 15 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 20.5 years | 16 years | 25 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 30.5 years | 26 years | 35 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 40.5 years | 36 years | 45 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 48.5 years | 46 years | 51 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea
More social development data for Papua New Guinea
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 7,727 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 644 (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 0.0001 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 644 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0007 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 Papua New Guinea?
- Age of electoral democracy in Papua New Guinea was 51 years in 2025, according to Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest age of electoral democracy recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 51 years in 2025.
- What is the lowest age of electoral democracy recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 years in 1975.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for age of electoral democracy?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 39th out of 144 countries with data for 2025.
- Is age of electoral democracy rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 24.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Papua New Guinea 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 — 51 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of consecutive years in electoral democracy.