Age of full democracy in Tonga
Tonga: Age of full democracy was 8 years in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2025)
8 years
Change on year
up 14.3%
World rank
82nd
of 89 countries
All-time high
8 years
in 2025
All-time low
1 years
in 2018
Years of data
8
2018–2025
Age of full democracy in Tonga, 2018–2025
Source: Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for age of full democracy in Tonga is 8 years, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 8 years on record.
That represents a change of up 14.3% on the previous year and up 700.0% over ten years.
Tonga ranks 82nd of 89 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
Age of full democracy in Tonga, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 1 years | — |
| 2019 | 2 years | +100.0% |
| 2020 | 3 years | +50.0% |
| 2021 | 4 years | +33.3% |
| 2022 | 5 years | +25.0% |
| 2023 | 6 years | +20.0% |
| 2024 | 7 years | +16.7% |
| 2025 | 8 years | +14.3% |
Tonga compared with similar countries
- Tonga's 8 years is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 34.5 years, 23% of the median. (24 countries reporting)
- Tonga's 8 years is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 47 years, 17% of the median. (16 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 1.5 years | 1 years | 2 years | 2 |
| 2020s | 5.5 years | 3 years | 8 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near Tonga
- 79 Guyana 13 years compare
- 80 Honduras 11 years
- 81 Philippines 9 years
- 83 Antigua and Barbuda 5 years compare
- 83 El Salvador 5 years
- 83 Seychelles 5 years compare
More social development data for Tonga
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 65 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 3 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 50 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 3 (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 65 (2025)
- Sovereign state gleditsch ward, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 54.76 % change on previous year (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 Tonga?
- Age of full democracy in Tonga was 8 years in 2025, according to Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest age of full democracy recorded in Tonga?
- The highest recorded value was 8 years in 2025.
- What is the lowest age of full democracy recorded in Tonga?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 years in 2018.
- How does Tonga rank for age of full democracy?
- Tonga ranks 82nd out of 89 countries with data for 2025.
- Is age of full democracy rising or falling in Tonga?
- Over the last ten years it is up 700.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Tonga 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 — 8 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of consecutive years in a full democracy.