Age of electoral democracy in India
India: Age of electoral democracy was 39 in 2016. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2016)
39
Change on year
up 2.6%
World rank
36th
of 111 countries
All-time high
39
in 2016
All-time low
1
in 1952
Years of data
62
1952–2016
Age of electoral democracy in India, 1952–2016
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2016, age of electoral democracy in India stood at 39. That is the highest value across all 62 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 India peaked at 39 in 2016 and was at its lowest, 1, in 1952.
India ranks 36th of 111 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.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 4.5 | 1 | 8 | 8 |
| 1960s | 13.5 | 9 | 18 | 10 |
| 1970s | 15.43 | 1 | 23 | 7 |
| 1980s | 7.5 | 3 | 12 | 10 |
| 1990s | 17.5 | 13 | 22 | 10 |
| 2000s | 27.5 | 23 | 32 | 10 |
| 2010s | 36 | 33 | 39 | 7 |
Countries ranked near India
- 33 Argentina 42 compare
- 33 Jamaica 42 compare
- 35 Uruguay 41 compare
- 36 Brazil 39 compare
- 38 South Korea 38 compare
- 39 Bulgaria 36 compare
- 39 Chile 36 compare
- 39 Czechia 36 compare
- 39 Latvia 36 compare
- 39 Lithuania 36 compare
- 39 Namibia 36 compare
- 39 Poland 36 compare
- 39 Romania 36 compare
- 39 Senegal 36 compare
- 39 Slovenia 36 compare
More social development data for India
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 238,643 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 42,610 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh 2 (2025)
- Democracy lexical 1 (2025)
- Human rights index vs electoral democracy index 0.534 (2025)
- Liberal democracy index 0.26 (2025)
- Electoral democracy index 0.377 (2025)
- Freedom of association index 0.586 (2025)
- Freedom of expression index 0.458 (2025)
- Participatory democracy index 0.246 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is age of electoral democracy in India?
- Age of electoral democracy in India was 39 in 2016, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest age of electoral democracy recorded in India?
- The highest recorded value was 39 in 2016.
- What is the lowest age of electoral democracy recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 in 1952.
- How does India rank for age of electoral democracy?
- India ranks 36th out of 111 countries with data for 2016.
- Is age of electoral democracy rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is up 34.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this India data come from?
- The figures come from 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 — 62 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).