Age of liberal democracy in United States
United States: Age of liberal democracy was 56 years in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Age of liberal democracy in United States, 1969–2024
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
United States recorded 56 years for age of liberal democracy in 2024. 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 United States peaked at 56 years in 2024 and was at its lowest, 1 years, in 1969.
That places United States 18th out of 47 countries with data for 2024, 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 United States, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1969 | 1 years | — |
| 1970 | 2 years | +100.0% |
| 1971 | 3 years | +50.0% |
| 1972 | 4 years | +33.3% |
| 1973 | 5 years | +25.0% |
| 1974 | 6 years | +20.0% |
| 1975 | 7 years | +16.7% |
| 1976 | 8 years | +14.3% |
| 1977 | 9 years | +12.5% |
| 1978 | 10 years | +11.1% |
| 1979 | 11 years | +10.0% |
| 1980 | 12 years | +9.1% |
| 1981 | 13 years | +8.3% |
| 1982 | 14 years | +7.7% |
| 1983 | 15 years | +7.1% |
| 1984 | 16 years | +6.7% |
| 1985 | 17 years | +6.2% |
| 1986 | 18 years | +5.9% |
| 1987 | 19 years | +5.6% |
| 1988 | 20 years | +5.3% |
| 1989 | 21 years | +5.0% |
| 1990 | 22 years | +4.8% |
| 1991 | 23 years | +4.5% |
| 1992 | 24 years | +4.3% |
| 1993 | 25 years | +4.2% |
| 1994 | 26 years | +4.0% |
| 1995 | 27 years | +3.8% |
| 1996 | 28 years | +3.7% |
| 1997 | 29 years | +3.6% |
| 1998 | 30 years | +3.4% |
| 1999 | 31 years | +3.3% |
| 2000 | 32 years | +3.2% |
| 2001 | 33 years | +3.1% |
| 2002 | 34 years | +3.0% |
| 2003 | 35 years | +2.9% |
| 2004 | 36 years | +2.9% |
| 2005 | 37 years | +2.8% |
| 2006 | 38 years | +2.7% |
| 2007 | 39 years | +2.6% |
| 2008 | 40 years | +2.6% |
| 2009 | 41 years | +2.5% |
| 2010 | 42 years | +2.4% |
| 2011 | 43 years | +2.4% |
| 2012 | 44 years | +2.3% |
| 2013 | 45 years | +2.3% |
| 2014 | 46 years | +2.2% |
| 2015 | 47 years | +2.2% |
| 2016 | 48 years | +2.1% |
| 2017 | 49 years | +2.1% |
| 2018 | 50 years | +2.0% |
| 2019 | 51 years | +2.0% |
| 2020 | 52 years | +2.0% |
| 2021 | 53 years | +1.9% |
| 2022 | 54 years | +1.9% |
| 2023 | 55 years | +1.9% |
| 2024 | 56 years | +1.8% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 56 years is above the median for high income countries, which is 45 years, 1.2× the median. (40 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Age of liberal democracy in United States 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | +100.0% | 1 years | 2 years |
| 1971 | +50.0% | 2 years | 3 years |
| 1972 | +33.3% | 3 years | 4 years |
| 1973 | +25.0% | 4 years | 5 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1 years | 1 years | 1 years | 1 |
| 1970s | 6.5 years | 2 years | 11 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 16.5 years | 12 years | 21 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 26.5 years | 22 years | 31 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 36.5 years | 32 years | 41 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 46.5 years | 42 years | 51 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 54 years | 52 years | 56 years | 5 |
Countries ranked near United States
More social development data for United States
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 457,647 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 3,667 (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 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 3,667 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0013 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 United States?
- Age of liberal democracy in United States was 56 years in 2024, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest age of liberal democracy recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 56 years in 2024.
- What is the lowest age of liberal democracy recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 years in 1969.
- How does United States rank for age of liberal democracy?
- United States ranks 18th out of 47 countries with data for 2024.
- Is age of liberal democracy rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is up 21.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this United States 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.