Age of full democracy in Ghana
Ghana: Age of full democracy was 26 years in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Age of full democracy in Ghana, 2000–2025
Source: Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2025, age of full democracy in Ghana stood at 26 years. That is the highest value across all 26 years on record.
That represents a change of up 4.0% on the previous year and up 62.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, age of full democracy in Ghana peaked at 26 years in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1 years, in 2000.
Ghana ranks 64th of 89 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 full democracy in Ghana, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1 years | — |
| 2001 | 2 years | +100.0% |
| 2002 | 3 years | +50.0% |
| 2003 | 4 years | +33.3% |
| 2004 | 5 years | +25.0% |
| 2005 | 6 years | +20.0% |
| 2006 | 7 years | +16.7% |
| 2007 | 8 years | +14.3% |
| 2008 | 9 years | +12.5% |
| 2009 | 10 years | +11.1% |
| 2010 | 11 years | +10.0% |
| 2011 | 12 years | +9.1% |
| 2012 | 13 years | +8.3% |
| 2013 | 14 years | +7.7% |
| 2014 | 15 years | +7.1% |
| 2015 | 16 years | +6.7% |
| 2016 | 17 years | +6.2% |
| 2017 | 18 years | +5.9% |
| 2018 | 19 years | +5.6% |
| 2019 | 20 years | +5.3% |
| 2020 | 21 years | +5.0% |
| 2021 | 22 years | +4.8% |
| 2022 | 23 years | +4.5% |
| 2023 | 24 years | +4.3% |
| 2024 | 25 years | +4.2% |
| 2025 | 26 years | +4.0% |
Ghana compared with similar countries
- Ghana's 26 years is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 27 years, 96% of the median. (12 countries reporting)
- Ghana's 26 years is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 24 years, 1.1× the median. (10 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Age of full democracy in Ghana 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | +100.0% | 1 years | 2 years |
| 2002 | +50.0% | 2 years | 3 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5.5 years | 1 years | 10 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 15.5 years | 11 years | 20 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 23.5 years | 21 years | 26 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near Ghana
More social development data for Ghana
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 21,050 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 16,030 (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 0.0005 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 16,030 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0006 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 full democracy in Ghana?
- Age of full democracy in Ghana was 26 years in 2025, according to Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest age of full democracy recorded in Ghana?
- The highest recorded value was 26 years in 2025.
- What is the lowest age of full democracy recorded in Ghana?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 years in 2000.
- How does Ghana rank for age of full democracy?
- Ghana ranks 64th out of 89 countries with data for 2025.
- Is age of full democracy rising or falling in Ghana?
- Over the last ten years it is up 62.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Ghana data come from?
- The figures come from Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Age of full democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of consecutive years in a full democracy.