Age of liberal democracy in Estonia
Estonia: Age of liberal democracy was 30 years in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Age of liberal democracy in Estonia, 1996–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2025, age of liberal democracy in Estonia stood at 30 years. That is the highest value across all 30 years on record.
The figure is up 3.4% on the previous year and up 50.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, age of liberal democracy in Estonia peaked at 30 years in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1 years, in 1996.
That places Estonia 27th out of 47 countries with data for 2025, putting it 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 Estonia, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 1 years | — |
| 1997 | 2 years | +100.0% |
| 1998 | 3 years | +50.0% |
| 1999 | 4 years | +33.3% |
| 2000 | 5 years | +25.0% |
| 2001 | 6 years | +20.0% |
| 2002 | 7 years | +16.7% |
| 2003 | 8 years | +14.3% |
| 2004 | 9 years | +12.5% |
| 2005 | 10 years | +11.1% |
| 2006 | 11 years | +10.0% |
| 2007 | 12 years | +9.1% |
| 2008 | 13 years | +8.3% |
| 2009 | 14 years | +7.7% |
| 2010 | 15 years | +7.1% |
| 2011 | 16 years | +6.7% |
| 2012 | 17 years | +6.2% |
| 2013 | 18 years | +5.9% |
| 2014 | 19 years | +5.6% |
| 2015 | 20 years | +5.3% |
| 2016 | 21 years | +5.0% |
| 2017 | 22 years | +4.8% |
| 2018 | 23 years | +4.5% |
| 2019 | 24 years | +4.3% |
| 2020 | 25 years | +4.2% |
| 2021 | 26 years | +4.0% |
| 2022 | 27 years | +3.8% |
| 2023 | 28 years | +3.7% |
| 2024 | 29 years | +3.6% |
| 2025 | 30 years | +3.4% |
Estonia compared with similar countries
- Estonia's 30 years is below the median for high income countries, which is 45 years, 67% of the median. (40 countries reporting)
- Estonia's 30 years is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 51 years, 59% of the median. (28 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Age of liberal democracy in Estonia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | +100.0% | 1 years | 2 years |
| 1998 | +50.0% | 2 years | 3 years |
| 1999 | +33.3% | 3 years | 4 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 2.5 years | 1 years | 4 years | 4 |
| 2000s | 9.5 years | 5 years | 14 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 19.5 years | 15 years | 24 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 27.5 years | 25 years | 30 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near Estonia
More social development data for Estonia
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 41,299 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 86 (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 0.0001 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 86 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0302 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 Estonia?
- Age of liberal democracy in Estonia was 30 years in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest age of liberal democracy recorded in Estonia?
- The highest recorded value was 30 years in 2025.
- What is the lowest age of liberal democracy recorded in Estonia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 years in 1996.
- How does Estonia rank for age of liberal democracy?
- Estonia ranks 27th out of 47 countries with data for 2025.
- Is age of liberal democracy rising or falling in Estonia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 50.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Estonia 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 — 30 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of consecutive years in electoral democracy.