Age of liberal democracy in Canada
Canada: Age of liberal democracy was 1 years in 2021. ◆ Volatile
Age of liberal democracy in Canada, 1976–2021
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2021, age of liberal democracy in Canada stood at 1 years. That is the lowest value across all 45 years on record.
That represents a change of down 97.7% on the previous year and down 97.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, age of liberal democracy in Canada peaked at 44 years in 2019 and was at its lowest, 1 years, in 1976.
Canada ranks 44th of 47 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Age of liberal democracy in Canada, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 1 years | — |
| 1977 | 2 years | +100.0% |
| 1978 | 3 years | +50.0% |
| 1979 | 4 years | +33.3% |
| 1980 | 5 years | +25.0% |
| 1981 | 6 years | +20.0% |
| 1982 | 7 years | +16.7% |
| 1983 | 8 years | +14.3% |
| 1984 | 9 years | +12.5% |
| 1985 | 10 years | +11.1% |
| 1986 | 11 years | +10.0% |
| 1987 | 12 years | +9.1% |
| 1988 | 13 years | +8.3% |
| 1989 | 14 years | +7.7% |
| 1990 | 15 years | +7.1% |
| 1991 | 16 years | +6.7% |
| 1992 | 17 years | +6.2% |
| 1993 | 18 years | +5.9% |
| 1994 | 19 years | +5.6% |
| 1995 | 20 years | +5.3% |
| 1996 | 21 years | +5.0% |
| 1997 | 22 years | +4.8% |
| 1998 | 23 years | +4.5% |
| 1999 | 24 years | +4.3% |
| 2000 | 25 years | +4.2% |
| 2001 | 26 years | +4.0% |
| 2002 | 27 years | +3.8% |
| 2003 | 28 years | +3.7% |
| 2004 | 29 years | +3.6% |
| 2005 | 30 years | +3.4% |
| 2006 | 31 years | +3.3% |
| 2007 | 32 years | +3.2% |
| 2008 | 33 years | +3.1% |
| 2009 | 34 years | +3.0% |
| 2010 | 35 years | +2.9% |
| 2011 | 36 years | +2.9% |
| 2012 | 37 years | +2.8% |
| 2013 | 38 years | +2.7% |
| 2014 | 39 years | +2.6% |
| 2015 | 40 years | +2.6% |
| 2016 | 41 years | +2.5% |
| 2017 | 42 years | +2.4% |
| 2018 | 43 years | +2.4% |
| 2019 | 44 years | +2.3% |
| 2021 | 1 years | -97.7% |
Canada compared with similar countries
- Canada's 1 years is below the median for high income countries, which is 45 years, 2% of the median. (40 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Age of liberal democracy in Canada 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | -97.7% | 44 years | 1 years |
| 1977 | +100.0% | 1 years | 2 years |
| 1978 | +50.0% | 2 years | 3 years |
| 1979 | +33.3% | 3 years | 4 years |
| 1980 | +25.0% | 4 years | 5 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2.5 years | 1 years | 4 years | 4 |
| 1980s | 9.5 years | 5 years | 14 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 19.5 years | 15 years | 24 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 29.5 years | 25 years | 34 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 39.5 years | 35 years | 44 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 1 years | 1 years | 1 years | 1 |
Countries ranked near Canada
More social development data for Canada
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 416,028 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 360 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 1 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 1 (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 360 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.01 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 Canada?
- Age of liberal democracy in Canada was 1 years in 2021, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest age of liberal democracy recorded in Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 44 years in 2019.
- What is the lowest age of liberal democracy recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 years in 1976.
- How does Canada rank for age of liberal democracy?
- Canada ranks 44th out of 47 countries with data for 2021.
- Is age of liberal democracy rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is down 97.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Canada 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 — 45 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of consecutive years in electoral democracy.