Age of liberal democracy in Italy
Italy: Age of liberal democracy was 56 years in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Age of liberal democracy in Italy, 1970–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
Italy recorded 56 years for age of liberal democracy in 2025. That is the highest value across all 56 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.8% on the previous year and up 21.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, age of liberal democracy in Italy peaked at 56 years in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1 years, in 1970.
Italy ranks 18th 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 Italy, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 1 years | — |
| 1971 | 2 years | +100.0% |
| 1972 | 3 years | +50.0% |
| 1973 | 4 years | +33.3% |
| 1974 | 5 years | +25.0% |
| 1975 | 6 years | +20.0% |
| 1976 | 7 years | +16.7% |
| 1977 | 8 years | +14.3% |
| 1978 | 9 years | +12.5% |
| 1979 | 10 years | +11.1% |
| 1980 | 11 years | +10.0% |
| 1981 | 12 years | +9.1% |
| 1982 | 13 years | +8.3% |
| 1983 | 14 years | +7.7% |
| 1984 | 15 years | +7.1% |
| 1985 | 16 years | +6.7% |
| 1986 | 17 years | +6.2% |
| 1987 | 18 years | +5.9% |
| 1988 | 19 years | +5.6% |
| 1989 | 20 years | +5.3% |
| 1990 | 21 years | +5.0% |
| 1991 | 22 years | +4.8% |
| 1992 | 23 years | +4.5% |
| 1993 | 24 years | +4.3% |
| 1994 | 25 years | +4.2% |
| 1995 | 26 years | +4.0% |
| 1996 | 27 years | +3.8% |
| 1997 | 28 years | +3.7% |
| 1998 | 29 years | +3.6% |
| 1999 | 30 years | +3.4% |
| 2000 | 31 years | +3.3% |
| 2001 | 32 years | +3.2% |
| 2002 | 33 years | +3.1% |
| 2003 | 34 years | +3.0% |
| 2004 | 35 years | +2.9% |
| 2005 | 36 years | +2.9% |
| 2006 | 37 years | +2.8% |
| 2007 | 38 years | +2.7% |
| 2008 | 39 years | +2.6% |
| 2009 | 40 years | +2.6% |
| 2010 | 41 years | +2.5% |
| 2011 | 42 years | +2.4% |
| 2012 | 43 years | +2.4% |
| 2013 | 44 years | +2.3% |
| 2014 | 45 years | +2.3% |
| 2015 | 46 years | +2.2% |
| 2016 | 47 years | +2.2% |
| 2017 | 48 years | +2.1% |
| 2018 | 49 years | +2.1% |
| 2019 | 50 years | +2.0% |
| 2020 | 51 years | +2.0% |
| 2021 | 52 years | +2.0% |
| 2022 | 53 years | +1.9% |
| 2023 | 54 years | +1.9% |
| 2024 | 55 years | +1.9% |
| 2025 | 56 years | +1.8% |
Italy compared with similar countries
- Italy's 56 years is above the median for high income countries, which is 45 years, 1.2× the median. (40 countries reporting)
- Italy's 56 years is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 51 years, 1.1× the median. (28 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Age of liberal democracy in Italy 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | +100.0% | 1 years | 2 years |
| 1972 | +50.0% | 2 years | 3 years |
| 1973 | +33.3% | 3 years | 4 years |
| 1974 | +25.0% | 4 years | 5 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 5.5 years | 1 years | 10 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 15.5 years | 11 years | 20 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 25.5 years | 21 years | 30 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 35.5 years | 31 years | 40 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 45.5 years | 41 years | 50 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 53.5 years | 51 years | 56 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near Italy
More social development data for Italy
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 192,914 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 266 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 100 % 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 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 266 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0033 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 Italy?
- Age of liberal democracy in Italy was 56 years in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest age of liberal democracy recorded in Italy?
- The highest recorded value was 56 years in 2025.
- What is the lowest age of liberal democracy recorded in Italy?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 years in 1970.
- How does Italy rank for age of liberal democracy?
- Italy ranks 18th out of 47 countries with data for 2025.
- Is age of liberal democracy rising or falling in Italy?
- Over the last ten years it is up 21.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Italy 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 — 56 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of consecutive years in electoral democracy.