Age of liberal democracy in Botswana
Botswana: Age of liberal democracy was 22 years in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Age of liberal democracy in Botswana, 1999–2020
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2020, age of liberal democracy in Botswana stood at 22 years. That is the highest value across all 22 years on record.
The figure is up 4.8% on the previous year and up 83.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, age of liberal democracy in Botswana peaked at 22 years in 2020 and was at its lowest, 1 years, in 1999.
Botswana ranks 30th of 47 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 liberal democracy in Botswana, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 1 years | — |
| 2000 | 2 years | +100.0% |
| 2001 | 3 years | +50.0% |
| 2002 | 4 years | +33.3% |
| 2003 | 5 years | +25.0% |
| 2004 | 6 years | +20.0% |
| 2005 | 7 years | +16.7% |
| 2006 | 8 years | +14.3% |
| 2007 | 9 years | +12.5% |
| 2008 | 10 years | +11.1% |
| 2009 | 11 years | +10.0% |
| 2010 | 12 years | +9.1% |
| 2011 | 13 years | +8.3% |
| 2012 | 14 years | +7.7% |
| 2013 | 15 years | +7.1% |
| 2014 | 16 years | +6.7% |
| 2015 | 17 years | +6.2% |
| 2016 | 18 years | +5.9% |
| 2017 | 19 years | +5.6% |
| 2018 | 20 years | +5.3% |
| 2019 | 21 years | +5.0% |
| 2020 | 22 years | +4.8% |
Botswana compared with similar countries
- Botswana's 22 years is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 17 years, 1.3× the median. (5 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Age of liberal democracy in Botswana 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | +100.0% | 1 years | 2 years |
| 2001 | +50.0% | 2 years | 3 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1 years | 1 years | 1 years | 1 |
| 2000s | 6.5 years | 2 years | 11 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 16.5 years | 12 years | 21 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 22 years | 22 years | 22 years | 1 |
Countries ranked near Botswana
More social development data for Botswana
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 847 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 384 (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 0.0001 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 384 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0003 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 liberal democracy in Botswana?
- Age of liberal democracy in Botswana was 22 years in 2020, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest age of liberal democracy recorded in Botswana?
- The highest recorded value was 22 years in 2020.
- What is the lowest age of liberal democracy recorded in Botswana?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 years in 1999.
- How does Botswana rank for age of liberal democracy?
- Botswana ranks 30th out of 47 countries with data for 2020.
- Is age of liberal democracy rising or falling in Botswana?
- Over the last ten years it is up 83.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Botswana data come from?
- The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Age of liberal democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 22 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of consecutive years in electoral democracy.