Age of electoral democracy (V-Dem) in Brazil
Brazil: Age of electoral democracy (V-Dem) was 39 years in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Age of electoral democracy in Brazil, 1987–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
Brazil recorded 39 years for age of electoral democracy in 2025. That is the highest value across all 39 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.6% on the previous year and up 34.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, age of electoral democracy in Brazil peaked at 39 years in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1 years, in 1987.
That places Brazil 36th out of 111 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 (V-Dem) in Brazil, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 1 years | — |
| 1988 | 2 years | +100.0% |
| 1989 | 3 years | +50.0% |
| 1990 | 4 years | +33.3% |
| 1991 | 5 years | +25.0% |
| 1992 | 6 years | +20.0% |
| 1993 | 7 years | +16.7% |
| 1994 | 8 years | +14.3% |
| 1995 | 9 years | +12.5% |
| 1996 | 10 years | +11.1% |
| 1997 | 11 years | +10.0% |
| 1998 | 12 years | +9.1% |
| 1999 | 13 years | +8.3% |
| 2000 | 14 years | +7.7% |
| 2001 | 15 years | +7.1% |
| 2002 | 16 years | +6.7% |
| 2003 | 17 years | +6.2% |
| 2004 | 18 years | +5.9% |
| 2005 | 19 years | +5.6% |
| 2006 | 20 years | +5.3% |
| 2007 | 21 years | +5.0% |
| 2008 | 22 years | +4.8% |
| 2009 | 23 years | +4.5% |
| 2010 | 24 years | +4.3% |
| 2011 | 25 years | +4.2% |
| 2012 | 26 years | +4.0% |
| 2013 | 27 years | +3.8% |
| 2014 | 28 years | +3.7% |
| 2015 | 29 years | +3.6% |
| 2016 | 30 years | +3.4% |
| 2017 | 31 years | +3.3% |
| 2018 | 32 years | +3.2% |
| 2019 | 33 years | +3.1% |
| 2020 | 34 years | +3.0% |
| 2021 | 35 years | +2.9% |
| 2022 | 36 years | +2.9% |
| 2023 | 37 years | +2.8% |
| 2024 | 38 years | +2.7% |
| 2025 | 39 years | +2.6% |
Brazil compared with similar countries
- Brazil's 39 years is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 23 years, 1.7× the median. (33 countries reporting)
- Brazil's 39 years is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 35 years, 1.1× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Age of electoral democracy (V-Dem) in Brazil 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | +100.0% | 1 years | 2 years |
| 1989 | +50.0% | 2 years | 3 years |
| 1990 | +33.3% | 3 years | 4 years |
| 1991 | +25.0% | 4 years | 5 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 2 years | 1 years | 3 years | 3 |
| 1990s | 8.5 years | 4 years | 13 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 18.5 years | 14 years | 23 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 28.5 years | 24 years | 33 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 36.5 years | 34 years | 39 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near Brazil
- 33 Argentina 42 years compare
- 33 Jamaica 42 years compare
- 35 Uruguay 41 years compare
- 36 India 39 years compare
- 38 South Korea 38 years compare
- 39 Bulgaria 36 years compare
- 39 Chile 36 years compare
- 39 Czechia 36 years compare
- 39 Latvia 36 years compare
- 39 Lithuania 36 years compare
- 39 Namibia 36 years compare
- 39 Poland 36 years compare
- 39 Romania 36 years compare
- 39 Senegal 36 years compare
- 39 Slovenia 36 years compare
More social development data for Brazil
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 278,966 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 6,306 (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 6,306 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0013 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 Brazil?
- Age of electoral democracy in Brazil was 39 years in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest age of electoral democracy recorded in Brazil?
- The highest recorded value was 39 years in 2025.
- What is the lowest age of electoral democracy recorded in Brazil?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 years in 1987.
- How does Brazil rank for age of electoral democracy?
- Brazil ranks 36th out of 111 countries with data for 2025.
- Is age of electoral democracy rising or falling in Brazil?
- Over the last ten years it is up 34.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Brazil data come from?
- The figures come from V-Dem (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 — 39 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of consecutive years in electoral democracy.