Which country has the highest Voting Age?

United Arab Emirates has the highest Voting Age, at 25, followed by Singapore (21) and Lebanon (21).

Which country has the lowest Voting Age?

Guernsey has the lowest Voting Age, at 16.

What is the median Voting Age across countries?

The median is 18 across the 229 countries with data.

Where does this voting age by country data come from?

Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: Voting age - Wikipedia.

Country rankings

Voting Age by Country

Name: Voting Age by Country
Creator: Rankodex

United Arab Emirates has the highest Voting Age (25), followed by Singapore (21) and Lebanon (21). Guernsey has the lowest (16).

Politics & Government230 countries · 2 metricsUpdated Jul 1, 2025Original page

1 source

Voting age - Wikipedia

ShowingVoting AgeBetter directionWhether a higher or a lower value is better. A green arrow means higher is better, a red arrow means lower is better, and no arrow means neither.More in the glossary →

229 of 235 countries

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Voting Age

Darker means higher. Click a place to highlight it.

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Ranking

Highest first: the first 15 and last 5 of 229 countries.

Distribution Median and middle halfThe median is the middle value: half of places are above it, half below. The middle half is the range holding the central 50% of places.More in the glossary →

Each dot is one country; the lines mark the median and the middle half.

Median

Middle half 18 – 18

Average

18.06

229 countries

Highest

United Arab Emirates

Lowest

Guernsey

Data

Click a column to sort, a row to highlight that place on the charts.

230 countries · # = rank by Voting Age

#
1	United Arab Emirates	25	But at least 25 for membership of the Electoral College, which consists of a significant minority of all citizens (the minimum age is decided by the ruler of each Emirate and may vary from one Emirate to another).
2	Singapore	21	—
2	Lebanon	21	—
2	Oman	21	Except for members of the military and police.
2	Kuwait	21	For those not in the military or police forces; all voters must have been citizens for 20 years; current proposal for reduction to 18.
2	Samoa	21	—
2	Tonga	21	—
2	Tokelau	21	—
9	Cameroon	20	—
9	Taiwan	20	18 for referendums (since 2017); voting age lowered to 18 by the Legislative Yuan in 2022, referendum on 26 November 2022.
9	Bahrain	20	—
9	Nauru	20	—
13	Solomon Islands	19	—
14	India	18	—
14	China	18	—
14	United States	18	However, in many states, persons 17 years of age are permitted to vote in primary elections if they will be 18 years of age on or before the day of the general election. Some municipalities allow 16-year-olds to vote in local elections.
14	Pakistan	18	Reserved parliamentary seats for women and non-Muslims.
14	Nigeria	18	—
14	Bangladesh	18	—
14	Russia	18	—
14	Ethiopia	18	—
14	Mexico	18	—
14	Japan	18	Lowered from 20 in June 2016. The voting age for constitutional referendums was lowered from 20 to 18 in June 2018.
14	Egypt	18	—
14	Philippines	18	For youth councils: 15 to 30.
14	DR Congo	18	—
14	Vietnam	18	—
14	Iran	18	Changed from 15 to 18 in 2007, returned to 15 in 2009 and returned to 18 in 2011.
14	Turkey	18	—
14	Germany	18	Voting age 16 for state elections: Baden-Württemberg, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Schleswig-Holstein., Voting age 16 for municipal elections: Baden-Württemberg, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, North Rhin…
14	Tanzania	18	—
14	Thailand	18	Being a Thai citizen since birth, or at least 5 years.
14	United Kingdom	18	18 for United Kingdom wide general elections to the House of Commons.16 for the Scottish independence referendum, Scottish Parliament elections and Scottish local government elections. 16 for Senedd (Welsh Parliament) elections and Welsh local elections.
14	France	18	—
14	South Africa	18	—
14	Italy	18	Lowered from 21 in 1975 for Chamber of Deputies elections and referendums, and from 25 in 2021 for Senate elections.
14	Kenya	18	—
14	Myanmar	18	—
14	Colombia	18	—
14	Sudan	18	—
14	Uganda	18	—
14	South Korea	18	Lowered from 19 in December 2019.
14	Algeria	18	—
14	Iraq	18	—
14	Spain	18	—
14	Yemen	18	—
14	Canada	18	—
14	Angola	18	—
14	Ukraine	18	—
14	Morocco	18	—
14	Poland	18	—
14	Uzbekistan	18	—
14	Mozambique	18	—
14	Malaysia	18	—
14	Ghana	18	—
14	Saudi Arabia	18	—
14	Peru	18	Universal and compulsory until the age of 70., Members of the military and national police could not vote until a Constitutional Reform in 2005.
14	Madagascar	18	—
14	Ivory Coast	18	—
14	Nepal	18	—
14	Niger	18	—
14	Venezuela	18	—
14	Australia	18	Compulsory.
14	Syria	18	—
14	Mali	18	—
14	Burkina Faso	18	—
14	Sri Lanka	18	—
14	Malawi	18	—
14	Zambia	18	—
14	Chad	18	—
14	Kazakhstan	18	—
14	Somalia	18	Universal suffrage starting with 24 June 2024 local elections.
14	Chile	18	—
14	Senegal	18	—
14	Guatemala	18	Active-duty members of the armed forces may not vote and are restricted to their barracks on election day.
14	Romania	18	Planned lowering of the voting age to 16 (for local elections and for European Parliament elections) is currently underway and has been approved by the Senate in early September 2022. However the government opposes the decision as "unconstitutional". Brought into debate by the…
14	Netherlands	18	—
14	Cambodia	18	—
14	Zimbabwe	18	—
14	Guinea	18	—
14	Benin	18	—
14	Rwanda	18	—
14	Burundi	18	—
14	Bolivia	18	Universal and compulsory.
14	South Sudan	18	—
14	Tunisia	18	With some exceptions.
14	Haiti	18	—
14	Belgium	18	16 in European elections.
14	Dominican Republic	18	Married persons regardless of age (members of the armed forces and national police cannot vote).
14	Jordan	18	—
14	Honduras	18	—
14	Tajikistan	18	—
14	Papua New Guinea	18	—
14	Sweden	18	—
14	Czechia	18	—
14	Azerbaijan	18	—
14	Portugal	18	—
14	Togo	18	—
14	Israel	18	17 for municipal elections; 17 year olds can also vote in national elections held after their 18th Hebrew calendar birthday.
14	Hungary	18	—
14	Switzerland	18	16 for cantonal and municipal elections in the canton of Glarus.
14	Sierra Leone	18	—
14	Belarus	18	—
14	Laos	18	—
14	Turkmenistan	18	—
14	Libya	18	—
14	Kyrgyzstan	18	—
14	Hong Kong	18	Direct election: 18 years of age; universal for permanent residents living in the territory of Hong Kong for the past seven years.\| Indirect election: Limited to about 220,000 members of functional constituencies and a 1,200-member election committee drawn from broad regional …
14	Paraguay	18	Universal and compulsory until the age of 75.
14	Bulgaria	18	—
14	Serbia	18	16 if employed.
14	Republic of the Congo	18	—
14	El Salvador	18	—
14	Denmark	18	—
14	Liberia	18	—
14	Central African Republic	18	—
14	Palestine	18	West Bank and Gaza.
14	Norway	18	However, persons 17 years of age are permitted to vote in parliamentary elections if they will be 18 years of age in the year the election is held.
14	Finland	18	—
14	Mauritania	18	—
14	Slovakia	18	—
14	Ireland	18	—
14	New Zealand	18	—
14	Costa Rica	18	—
14	Panama	18	—
14	Croatia	18	16 if employed.
14	Georgia	18	—
14	Eritrea	18	—
14	Mongolia	18	—
14	Uruguay	18	—
14	Puerto Rico	18	Island residents are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections. 16-year-olds may vote in local elections.
14	Qatar	18	—
14	Namibia	18	—
14	Bosnia and Herzegovina	18	16 if employed.
14	Moldova	18	—
14	Armenia	18	—
14	Gambia	18	—
14	Jamaica	18	—
14	Lithuania	18	—
14	Albania	18	—
14	Gabon	18	—
14	Botswana	18	—
14	Lesotho	18	—
14	Guinea-Bissau	18	—
14	Slovenia	18	16 if employed.
14	Equatorial Guinea	18	—
14	Latvia	18	—
14	North Macedonia	18	—
14	Trinidad and Tobago	18	—
14	Cyprus	18	—
14	Estonia	18	16 for local elections.
14	Eswatini	18	—
14	Mauritius	18	—
14	Djibouti	18	—
14	Fiji	18	As of 2013 Constitution.
14	Comoros	18	—
14	Reunion	18	—
14	Guyana	18	—
14	Bhutan	18	—
14	Macau	18	Direct election: 18 years of age, universal for permanent residents living in Macau for the past seven years., Indirect election: Limited to organizations registered as "corporate voters" (973 are currently registered) and a 300-member Election Committee drawn from broad regi…
14	Luxembourg	18	Compulsory until the age of 75. A proposal to lower the voting age to 16 was rejected in 2015 in a nationwide referendum (81% "no"-votes).
14	Suriname	18	—
14	Montenegro	18	—
14	Maldives	18	—
14	Cape Verde	18	—
14	Brunei	18	Village elections only.
14	Belize	18	—
14	Bahamas	18	—
14	Iceland	18	—
14	Guadeloupe	18	—
14	Mayotte	18	—
14	Vanuatu	18	—
14	Martinique	18	—
14	French Guiana	18	—
14	New Caledonia	18	—
14	French Polynesia	18	—
14	Barbados	18	—
14	Sao Tome and Principe	18	—
14	Curacao	18	—
14	Saint Lucia	18	—
14	Guam	18	US citizens, but do not vote in US presidential elections.
14	Kiribati	18	—
14	Seychelles	18	—
14	Grenada	18	—
14	Micronesia	18	—
14	Aruba	18	—
14	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	18	—
14	Antigua and Barbuda	18	—
14	Andorra	18	—
14	United States Virgin Islands	18	Island residents are U.S. citizens but do not vote in U.S. presidential elections.
14	Cayman Islands	18	—
14	Dominica	18	—
14	Bermuda	18	—
14	Faroe Islands	18	—
14	Greenland	18	—
14	Turks and Caicos Islands	18	—
14	Saint Kitts and Nevis	18	—
14	American Samoa	18	—
14	Sint Maarten	18	—
14	Northern Mariana Islands	18	Indigenous inhabitants are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections.
14	Gibraltar	18	Universal, plus other British citizens who have been residents six months or more.
14	Liechtenstein	18	Compulsory.
14	British Virgin Islands	18	—
14	Monaco	18	—
14	Marshall Islands	18	—
14	San Marino	18	—
14	Palau	18	—
14	Anguilla	18	—
14	Cook Islands	18	—
14	Wallis and Futuna	18	—
14	Tuvalu	18	—
14	Saint Pierre and Miquelon	18	—
14	Montserrat	18	—
14	Falkland Islands	18	—
14	Niue	18	—
216	Indonesia	17	No threshold for married persons. The military and police cannot vote.
216	North Korea	17	Members of the military have the right to vote, regardless of age.
216	Greece	17	17 from July 2016 onwards, was 18 prior. People who turn 17 in the year of the elections can also vote. Thus, if a 16-year-old teen was born in the last day of 2008, he/she can vote in an election taking place in 2025.
216	Timor-Leste	17	—
220	Brazil	16	Compulsory for 18 to 70; optional for illiterate citizens.
220	Argentina	16	Compulsory between 18 and 70., However, persons 15 years of age are permitted to vote in primary elections if they will be 16 years of age on or before the day of the general election.
220	Ecuador	16	Universal, compulsory for literate persons ages 18–65, optional for other eligible voters.
220	Cuba	16	—
220	Austria	16	—
220	Nicaragua	16	—
220	Malta	16	—
220	Jersey	16	—
220	Isle of Man	16	—
220	Guernsey	16	—
—	Afghanistan	—	No elections.

What correlates with Voting Age?

Pearson r against 1,283 other country metrics sharing at least 138 countries. Correlation is not causation.

Higher together

Places that have a higher Voting Age tend to score higher on these

Legal Voting AgeVoting Rights by Country
r = +0.89 · very strong · n = 216
Plot
Non-Resident Indians (NRIs)Indian Population by Country
r = +0.50 · strong · n = 195
Plot
Cost of a Beer - FinderCountries with the Most Expensive Beer
r = +0.36 · moderate · n = 169
Plot
Sex Ratio (Males Per 100 Females)Countries by Sex Ratio
r = +0.34 · moderate · n = 229
Plot
Land Area Needed for Self-SufficiencyFood Self Sufficiency Rate by Country
r = +0.32 · moderate · n = 153
Plot
Domestic ScoreWater Stress by Country
r = +0.32 · moderate · n = 148
Plot

Opposite directions

Places that have a higher Voting Age tend to score lower on these

Legal IndexLGBT Rights by Country
r = −0.29 · weak · n = 192
Plot
LGBTQI+ Travel Safety IndexMost Homophobic Countries
r = −0.29 · weak · n = 196
Plot
Travel IndexLGBT Rights by Country
r = −0.27 · weak · n = 197
Plot
Corporate TaxHighest Taxed Countries
r = −0.27 · weak · n = 154
Plot
Equality IndexLGBT Rights by Country
r = −0.27 · weak · n = 193
Plot
Agricultural UsePesticide Usage by Country
r = −0.26 · weak · n = 201
Plot

Quick answers

Which country has the highest Voting Age?: United Arab Emirates has the highest Voting Age, at 25, followed by Singapore (21) and Lebanon (21).
Which country has the lowest Voting Age?: Guernsey has the lowest Voting Age, at 16.
What is the median Voting Age across countries?: The median is 18 across the 229 countries with data.
Where does this voting age by country data come from?: Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: Voting age - Wikipedia.