Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) in Turkey
Turkey: Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) was 35 years in 2017. ◆ Volatile
Age of electoral democracy in Turkey, 1961–2017
Source: Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
Turkey recorded 35 years for age of electoral democracy in 2017. That is the highest value across all 52 years on record.
The figure is up 2.9% on the previous year and up 40.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, age of electoral democracy in Turkey peaked at 35 years in 2017 and was at its lowest, 1 years, in 1961.
Turkey ranks 73rd 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 Turkey, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 1 years | — |
| 1962 | 2 years | +100.0% |
| 1963 | 3 years | +50.0% |
| 1964 | 4 years | +33.3% |
| 1965 | 5 years | +25.0% |
| 1966 | 6 years | +20.0% |
| 1967 | 7 years | +16.7% |
| 1968 | 8 years | +14.3% |
| 1969 | 9 years | +12.5% |
| 1970 | 10 years | +11.1% |
| 1973 | 1 years | -90.0% |
| 1974 | 2 years | +100.0% |
| 1975 | 3 years | +50.0% |
| 1976 | 4 years | +33.3% |
| 1977 | 5 years | +25.0% |
| 1978 | 6 years | +20.0% |
| 1979 | 7 years | +16.7% |
| 1983 | 1 years | -85.7% |
| 1984 | 2 years | +100.0% |
| 1985 | 3 years | +50.0% |
| 1986 | 4 years | +33.3% |
| 1987 | 5 years | +25.0% |
| 1988 | 6 years | +20.0% |
| 1989 | 7 years | +16.7% |
| 1990 | 8 years | +14.3% |
| 1991 | 9 years | +12.5% |
| 1992 | 10 years | +11.1% |
| 1993 | 11 years | +10.0% |
| 1994 | 12 years | +9.1% |
| 1995 | 13 years | +8.3% |
| 1996 | 14 years | +7.7% |
| 1997 | 15 years | +7.1% |
| 1998 | 16 years | +6.7% |
| 1999 | 17 years | +6.2% |
| 2000 | 18 years | +5.9% |
| 2001 | 19 years | +5.6% |
| 2002 | 20 years | +5.3% |
| 2003 | 21 years | +5.0% |
| 2004 | 22 years | +4.8% |
| 2005 | 23 years | +4.5% |
| 2006 | 24 years | +4.3% |
| 2007 | 25 years | +4.2% |
| 2008 | 26 years | +4.0% |
| 2009 | 27 years | +3.8% |
| 2010 | 28 years | +3.7% |
| 2011 | 29 years | +3.6% |
| 2012 | 30 years | +3.4% |
| 2013 | 31 years | +3.3% |
| 2014 | 32 years | +3.2% |
| 2015 | 33 years | +3.1% |
| 2016 | 34 years | +3.0% |
| 2017 | 35 years | +2.9% |
Turkey compared with similar countries
- Turkey's 35 years is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 35 years, 1.0× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Turkey's 35 years is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 36 years, 97% of the median. (43 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) in Turkey 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | -90.0% | 10 years | 1 years |
| 1983 | -85.7% | 7 years | 1 years |
| 1962 | +100.0% | 1 years | 2 years |
| 1974 | +100.0% | 1 years | 2 years |
| 1984 | +100.0% | 1 years | 2 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 5 years | 1 years | 9 years | 9 |
| 1970s | 4.75 years | 1 years | 10 years | 8 |
| 1980s | 4 years | 1 years | 7 years | 7 |
| 1990s | 12.5 years | 8 years | 17 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 22.5 years | 18 years | 27 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 31.5 years | 28 years | 35 years | 8 |
Countries ranked near Turkey
More social development data for Turkey
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 2.39 million (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 149,405 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 5 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 5 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0017 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 149,405 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0278 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 Turkey?
- Age of electoral democracy in Turkey was 35 years in 2017, according to Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest age of electoral democracy recorded in Turkey?
- The highest recorded value was 35 years in 2017.
- What is the lowest age of electoral democracy recorded in Turkey?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 years in 1961.
- How does Turkey rank for age of electoral democracy?
- Turkey ranks 73rd out of 144 countries with data for 2017.
- Is age of electoral democracy rising or falling in Turkey?
- Over the last ten years it is up 40.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Turkey 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.