Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) in East Timor
East Timor: Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) was 25 years in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Age of electoral democracy in East Timor, 2001–2025
Source: Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2025, age of electoral democracy in East Timor stood at 25 years. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
The figure is up 4.2% on the previous year and up 66.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, age of electoral democracy in East Timor peaked at 25 years in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1 years, in 2001.
That places East Timor 101st 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 East Timor, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 1 years | — |
| 2002 | 2 years | +100.0% |
| 2003 | 3 years | +50.0% |
| 2004 | 4 years | +33.3% |
| 2005 | 5 years | +25.0% |
| 2006 | 6 years | +20.0% |
| 2007 | 7 years | +16.7% |
| 2008 | 8 years | +14.3% |
| 2009 | 9 years | +12.5% |
| 2010 | 10 years | +11.1% |
| 2011 | 11 years | +10.0% |
| 2012 | 12 years | +9.1% |
| 2013 | 13 years | +8.3% |
| 2014 | 14 years | +7.7% |
| 2015 | 15 years | +7.1% |
| 2016 | 16 years | +6.7% |
| 2017 | 17 years | +6.2% |
| 2018 | 18 years | +5.9% |
| 2019 | 19 years | +5.6% |
| 2020 | 20 years | +5.3% |
| 2021 | 21 years | +5.0% |
| 2022 | 22 years | +4.8% |
| 2023 | 23 years | +4.5% |
| 2024 | 24 years | +4.3% |
| 2025 | 25 years | +4.2% |
East Timor compared with similar countries
- East Timor's 25 years is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 24 years, 1.0× the median. (29 countries reporting)
- East Timor's 25 years is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 45 years, 56% of the median. (23 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) in East Timor 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | +100.0% | 1 years | 2 years |
| 2003 | +50.0% | 2 years | 3 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5 years | 1 years | 9 years | 9 |
| 2010s | 14.5 years | 10 years | 19 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 22.5 years | 20 years | 25 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near East Timor
More social development data for East Timor
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 (2015)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 15 (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 15 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per person (2015)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2015)
Frequently asked questions
- What is age of electoral democracy in East Timor?
- Age of electoral democracy in East Timor was 25 years in 2025, according to Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest age of electoral democracy recorded in East Timor?
- The highest recorded value was 25 years in 2025.
- What is the lowest age of electoral democracy recorded in East Timor?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 years in 2001.
- How does East Timor rank for age of electoral democracy?
- East Timor ranks 101st out of 144 countries with data for 2025.
- Is age of electoral democracy rising or falling in East Timor?
- Over the last ten years it is up 66.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this East Timor 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 — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of consecutive years in electoral democracy.