Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) in Switzerland
Switzerland: Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) was 55 years in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Age of electoral democracy in Switzerland, 1971–2025
Source: Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
Switzerland recorded 55 years for age of electoral democracy in 2025. That is the highest value across all 55 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.9% on the previous year and up 22.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, age of electoral democracy in Switzerland peaked at 55 years in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1 years, in 1971.
That places Switzerland 37th out of 144 countries with data for 2025, putting it 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 Switzerland, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 1 years | — |
| 1972 | 2 years | +100.0% |
| 1973 | 3 years | +50.0% |
| 1974 | 4 years | +33.3% |
| 1975 | 5 years | +25.0% |
| 1976 | 6 years | +20.0% |
| 1977 | 7 years | +16.7% |
| 1978 | 8 years | +14.3% |
| 1979 | 9 years | +12.5% |
| 1980 | 10 years | +11.1% |
| 1981 | 11 years | +10.0% |
| 1982 | 12 years | +9.1% |
| 1983 | 13 years | +8.3% |
| 1984 | 14 years | +7.7% |
| 1985 | 15 years | +7.1% |
| 1986 | 16 years | +6.7% |
| 1987 | 17 years | +6.2% |
| 1988 | 18 years | +5.9% |
| 1989 | 19 years | +5.6% |
| 1990 | 20 years | +5.3% |
| 1991 | 21 years | +5.0% |
| 1992 | 22 years | +4.8% |
| 1993 | 23 years | +4.5% |
| 1994 | 24 years | +4.3% |
| 1995 | 25 years | +4.2% |
| 1996 | 26 years | +4.0% |
| 1997 | 27 years | +3.8% |
| 1998 | 28 years | +3.7% |
| 1999 | 29 years | +3.6% |
| 2000 | 30 years | +3.4% |
| 2001 | 31 years | +3.3% |
| 2002 | 32 years | +3.2% |
| 2003 | 33 years | +3.1% |
| 2004 | 34 years | +3.0% |
| 2005 | 35 years | +2.9% |
| 2006 | 36 years | +2.9% |
| 2007 | 37 years | +2.8% |
| 2008 | 38 years | +2.7% |
| 2009 | 39 years | +2.6% |
| 2010 | 40 years | +2.6% |
| 2011 | 41 years | +2.5% |
| 2012 | 42 years | +2.4% |
| 2013 | 43 years | +2.4% |
| 2014 | 44 years | +2.3% |
| 2015 | 45 years | +2.3% |
| 2016 | 46 years | +2.2% |
| 2017 | 47 years | +2.2% |
| 2018 | 48 years | +2.1% |
| 2019 | 49 years | +2.1% |
| 2020 | 50 years | +2.0% |
| 2021 | 51 years | +2.0% |
| 2022 | 52 years | +2.0% |
| 2023 | 53 years | +1.9% |
| 2024 | 54 years | +1.9% |
| 2025 | 55 years | +1.9% |
Switzerland compared with similar countries
- Switzerland's 55 years is below the median for high income countries, which is 57 years, 96% of the median. (54 countries reporting)
- Switzerland's 55 years is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 36 years, 1.5× the median. (43 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) in Switzerland 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | +100.0% | 1 years | 2 years |
| 1973 | +50.0% | 2 years | 3 years |
| 1974 | +33.3% | 3 years | 4 years |
| 1975 | +25.0% | 4 years | 5 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 5 years | 1 years | 9 years | 9 |
| 1980s | 14.5 years | 10 years | 19 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 24.5 years | 20 years | 29 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 34.5 years | 30 years | 39 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 44.5 years | 40 years | 49 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 52.5 years | 50 years | 55 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near Switzerland
More social development data for Switzerland
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 208,287 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 6 (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 6 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0229 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 Switzerland?
- Age of electoral democracy in Switzerland was 55 years in 2025, according to Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest age of electoral democracy recorded in Switzerland?
- The highest recorded value was 55 years in 2025.
- What is the lowest age of electoral democracy recorded in Switzerland?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 years in 1971.
- How does Switzerland rank for age of electoral democracy?
- Switzerland ranks 37th out of 144 countries with data for 2025.
- Is age of electoral democracy rising or falling in Switzerland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 22.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Switzerland 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 — 55 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of consecutive years in electoral democracy.