Age of liberal democracy in Germany
Germany: Age of liberal democracy was 35 years in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Age of liberal democracy in Germany, 1991–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
Germany recorded 35 years for age of liberal democracy in 2025. That is the highest value across all 35 years on record.
The figure is up 2.9% on the previous year and up 40.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, age of liberal democracy in Germany peaked at 35 years in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1 years, in 1991.
Germany ranks 25th 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 Germany, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 1 years | — |
| 1992 | 2 years | +100.0% |
| 1993 | 3 years | +50.0% |
| 1994 | 4 years | +33.3% |
| 1995 | 5 years | +25.0% |
| 1996 | 6 years | +20.0% |
| 1997 | 7 years | +16.7% |
| 1998 | 8 years | +14.3% |
| 1999 | 9 years | +12.5% |
| 2000 | 10 years | +11.1% |
| 2001 | 11 years | +10.0% |
| 2002 | 12 years | +9.1% |
| 2003 | 13 years | +8.3% |
| 2004 | 14 years | +7.7% |
| 2005 | 15 years | +7.1% |
| 2006 | 16 years | +6.7% |
| 2007 | 17 years | +6.2% |
| 2008 | 18 years | +5.9% |
| 2009 | 19 years | +5.6% |
| 2010 | 20 years | +5.3% |
| 2011 | 21 years | +5.0% |
| 2012 | 22 years | +4.8% |
| 2013 | 23 years | +4.5% |
| 2014 | 24 years | +4.3% |
| 2015 | 25 years | +4.2% |
| 2016 | 26 years | +4.0% |
| 2017 | 27 years | +3.8% |
| 2018 | 28 years | +3.7% |
| 2019 | 29 years | +3.6% |
| 2020 | 30 years | +3.4% |
| 2021 | 31 years | +3.3% |
| 2022 | 32 years | +3.2% |
| 2023 | 33 years | +3.1% |
| 2024 | 34 years | +3.0% |
| 2025 | 35 years | +2.9% |
Germany compared with similar countries
- Germany's 35 years is below the median for high income countries, which is 45 years, 78% of the median. (40 countries reporting)
- Germany's 35 years is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 51 years, 69% of the median. (28 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Age of liberal democracy in Germany 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | +100.0% | 1 years | 2 years |
| 1993 | +50.0% | 2 years | 3 years |
| 1994 | +33.3% | 3 years | 4 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 5 years | 1 years | 9 years | 9 |
| 2000s | 14.5 years | 10 years | 19 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 24.5 years | 20 years | 29 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 32.5 years | 30 years | 35 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near Germany
More social development data for Germany
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 2.66 million (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 327 (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 327 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0318 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 Germany?
- Age of liberal democracy in Germany was 35 years in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest age of liberal democracy recorded in Germany?
- The highest recorded value was 35 years in 2025.
- What is the lowest age of liberal democracy recorded in Germany?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 years in 1991.
- How does Germany rank for age of liberal democracy?
- Germany ranks 25th out of 47 countries with data for 2025.
- Is age of liberal democracy rising or falling in Germany?
- Over the last ten years it is up 40.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Germany 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 — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of consecutive years in electoral democracy.