The CIA World Factbook Edition 2011 Government

Suffrage In 36 editions of 36.

Suffrage was published in 36 editions of the CIA World Factbook, from 1990 to 2025. The 2011 edition carries it in 235 entries, in its Government section. Every entry is shown as that edition published it.

entries in the 2011 edition
235
the first edition with it
1990
the latest edition with it
2025

Published as “Suffrage” (1990 to 2025).

the entry has the field in that editionnot in that editionthe open editionEach entry below ends in its editions with Suffrage, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down; choose one in a row to read that edition’s text there.

Entries with Suffrage in each edition

19902000201020202025

Select a bar to open that edition.

Africa

56 entries

Algeria

18 years of age; universal

Angola

18 years of age; universal

Benin

18 years of age; universal

Botswana

18 years of age; universal

Burkina Faso

18 years of age; universal

Burundi

18 years of age; universal

Cape Verde now Cabo Verde

18 years of age; universal

Cameroon

20 years of age; universal

Central African Republic

18 years of age; universal

Chad

18 years of age; universal

Comoros

18 years of age; universal

Congo, Democratic Republic of the now Democratic Republic of the Congo

18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Congo, Republic of the now Republic of the Congo

18 years of age; universal

Cote d'Ivoire

18 years of age; universal

Djibouti

18 years of age; universal

Egypt

18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Equatorial Guinea

18 years of age; universal

Eritrea

18 years of age; universal

Swaziland now Eswatini

18 years of age

Ethiopia

18 years of age; universal

Gabon

18 years of age; universal

Gambia, The now The Gambia

18 years of age; universal

Ghana

18 years of age; universal

Guinea

18 years of age; universal

Guinea-Bissau

18 years of age; universal

Kenya

18 years of age; universal

Lesotho

18 years of age; universal

Liberia

18 years of age; universal

Libya

18 years of age; universal and technically compulsory

Madagascar

18 years of age; universal

Malawi

18 years of age; universal

Mali

18 years of age; universal

Mauritania

18 years of age; universal

Mauritius

18 years of age; universal

Mayotte

18 years of age; universal

Morocco

18 years of age; universal

Mozambique

18 years of age; universal

Namibia

18 years of age; universal

Niger

18 years of age; universal

Nigeria

18 years of age; universal

Rwanda

18 years of age; universal

Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha

NA

Sao Tome and Principe

18 years of age; universal

Senegal

18 years of age; universal

Seychelles

17 years of age; universal

Sierra Leone

18 years of age; universal

Somalia

18 years of age; universal

South Africa

18 years of age; universal

Sudan

17 years of age; universal

Tanzania

18 years of age; universal

Togo

18 years of age; universal

Tunisia

18 years of age; universal except for active government security forces (including the police and the military), people with mental disabilities, people who have served more than three months in prison (criminal cases only), and people given a suspended sentence of more than six months

Uganda

18 years of age; universal

Western Sahara

none; (residents of Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara participate in Moroccan elections)

Zambia

18 years of age; universal

Zimbabwe

18 years of age; universal

Arctic Region

2 entries

Greenland

18 years of age; universal

Iceland

18 years of age; universal

Asia

22 entries

Afghanistan

18 years of age; universal

Armenia

18 years of age; universal

Azerbaijan

18 years of age; universal

Bangladesh

18 years of age; universal

Bhutan

18 years of age; universal

China

18 years of age; universal

Georgia

18 years of age; universal

India

18 years of age; universal

Japan

20 years of age; universal

Kazakhstan

18 years of age; universal

Korea, North now North Korea

17 years of age; universal

Korea, South now South Korea

19 years of age; universal

Kyrgyzstan

18 years of age; universal

Maldives

18 years of age; universal

Mongolia

18 years of age; universal

Nepal

18 years of age; universal

Pakistan

  • 18 years of age;
  • universal;
  • joint electorates and reserved parliamentary seats for women and non-Muslims

Russia

18 years of age; universal

Sri Lanka

18 years of age; universal

Tajikistan

18 years of age; universal

Turkmenistan

18 years of age; universal

Uzbekistan

18 years of age; universal

Central America and the Caribbean

32 entries

Anguilla

18 years of age; universal

Antigua and Barbuda

18 years of age; universal

Aruba

18 years of age; universal

Bahamas, The now The Bahamas

18 years of age; universal

Barbados

18 years of age; universal

Belize

18 years of age; universal

British Virgin Islands

18 years of age; universal

Cayman Islands

18 years of age; universal

Costa Rica

18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Cuba

16 years of age; universal

Curacao

18 years of age; universal

Dominica

18 years of age; universal

Dominican Republic

  • 18 years of age, universal and compulsory;
  • married persons regardless of age;
  • note - members of the armed forces and national police cannot vote

El Salvador

18 years of age; universal

Grenada

18 years of age; universal

Guatemala

  • 18 years of age;
  • universal;
  • note - active duty members of the armed forces may not vote and are restricted to their barracks on election day

Haiti

18 years of age; universal

Honduras

18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Jamaica

18 years of age; universal

Montserrat

18 years of age; universal

Nicaragua

16 years of age; universal

Panama

18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Puerto Rico

  • 18 years of age;
  • universal;
  • island residents are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections

Saint Barthelemy

18 years of age, universal

Saint Kitts and Nevis

18 years of age; universal

Saint Lucia

18 years of age; universal

Saint Martin

18 years of age, universal

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

18 years of age; universal

Sint Maarten

18 years of age; universal

Trinidad and Tobago

18 years of age; universal

Turks and Caicos Islands

18 years of age; universal

Virgin Islands

  • 18 years of age;
  • universal;
  • island residents are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections

Europe

49 entries

Albania

18 years of age; universal

Andorra

18 years of age; universal

Austria

  • 16 years of age;
  • universal;
  • note - reduced from 18 years of age in 2007

Belarus

18 years of age; universal

Belgium

18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Bosnia and Herzegovina

18 years of age, 16 if employed; universal

Bulgaria

18 years of age; universal

Croatia

18 years of age, 16 if employed; universal

Czech Republic now Czechia

18 years of age; universal

Denmark

18 years of age; universal

Estonia

18 years of age; universal for all Estonian citizens

European Union

voting for the European Parliament is permitted in each member state at 18 years of age; universal

Faroe Islands

18 years of age; universal

Finland

18 years of age; universal

France

18 years of age; universal

Germany

18 years of age; universal

Gibraltar

  • 18 years of age;
  • universal;
  • and British citizens who have been residents six months or more

Greece

18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Guernsey

16 years of age; universal

Holy See (Vatican City)

limited to cardinals less than 80 years old

Hungary

18 years of age; universal

Ireland

18 years of age; universal

Isle of Man

16 years of age; universal

Italy

18 years of age; universal (except in senatorial elections, where minimum age is 25)

Jersey

16 years of age; universal

Kosovo

18 years of age; universal

Latvia

18 years of age; universal for Latvian citizens

Liechtenstein

18 years of age; universal

Lithuania

18 years of age; universal

Luxembourg

18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Malta

18 years of age; universal

Moldova

18 years of age; universal

Monaco

18 years of age; universal

Montenegro

18 years of age; universal

Netherlands

18 years of age; universal

Macedonia now North Macedonia

18 years of age; universal

Norway

18 years of age; universal

Poland

18 years of age; universal

Portugal

18 years of age; universal

Romania

18 years of age; universal

San Marino

18 years of age; universal

Serbia

18 years of age; universal

Slovakia

18 years of age; universal

Slovenia

18 years of age, 16 if employed; universal

Spain

18 years of age; universal

Sweden

18 years of age; universal

Switzerland

18 years of age; universal

Ukraine

18 years of age; universal

United Kingdom

18 years of age; universal

Middle East

15 entries

Bahrain

  • 20 years of age;
  • universal;
  • note - Bahraini Cabinet in May 2011 endorsed a draft law lowering eligibility to 18 years

Cyprus

18 years of age; universal

Iran

18 years of age; universal

Iraq

18 years of age; universal

Israel

18 years of age; universal

Jordan

18 years of age; universal

Kuwait

  • 21 years of age;
  • universal;
  • note - males in the military or police are not allowed to vote;
  • adult females were allowed to vote as of 16 May 2005;
  • all voters must have been citizens for 20 years

Lebanon

  • 21 years of age;
  • compulsory for all males;
  • authorized for women at age 21 with elementary education;
  • excludes military personnel

Oman

  • 21 years of age;
  • universal;
  • note - members of the military and security forces are not allowed to vote

Qatar

18 years of age; universal

Saudi Arabia

21 years of age; male

Syria

18 years of age; universal

Turkey now Turkiye

18 years of age; universal

United Arab Emirates

none

Yemen

18 years of age; universal

North America

5 entries

Bermuda

18 years of age; universal

Canada

18 years of age; universal

Mexico

18 years of age; universal and compulsory (but not enforced)

Saint Pierre and Miquelon

18 years of age; universal

United States

18 years of age; universal

Oceania

25 entries

American Samoa

18 years of age; universal

Australia

18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Cook Islands

18 years of age; universal

Fiji

21 years of age; universal

French Polynesia

18 years of age; universal

Guam

  • 18 years of age;
  • universal;
  • US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections

Kiribati

18 years of age; universal

Marshall Islands

18 years of age; universal

Micronesia, Federated States of now Federated States of Micronesia

18 years of age; universal

Nauru

20 years of age; universal and compulsory

New Caledonia

18 years of age; universal

New Zealand

18 years of age; universal

Niue

18 years of age; universal

Norfolk Island

18 years of age; universal

Northern Mariana Islands

  • 18 years of age;
  • universal;
  • indigenous inhabitants are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections

Palau

18 years of age; universal

Papua New Guinea

18 years of age; universal

Pitcairn Islands

18 years of age; universal with three years residency

Samoa

21 years of age; universal

Solomon Islands

21 years of age; universal

Tokelau

21 years of age; universal

Tonga

21 years of age; universal

Tuvalu

18 years of age; universal

Vanuatu

18 years of age; universal

Wallis and Futuna

18 years of age; universal

South America

13 entries

Argentina

18-70 years of age; universal and compulsory

Bolivia

18 years of age, universal and compulsory

Brazil

  • voluntary between 16 and 18 years of age and over 70;
  • compulsory over 18 and under 70 years of age;
  • note - military conscripts do not vote

Chile

18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Colombia

18 years of age; universal

Ecuador

16 years of age; universal, compulsory for persons ages 18-65, optional for other eligible voters

Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)

18 years of age; universal

Guyana

18 years of age; universal

Paraguay

18 years of age; universal and compulsory up to age 75

Peru

18 years of age; universal and compulsory until the age of 70

Suriname

18 years of age; universal

Uruguay

18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Venezuela

18 years of age; universal

Southeast Asia

16 entries

Brunei

18 years of age for village elections; universal

Burma now Burma (Myanmar)

18 years of age; universal

Cambodia

18 years of age; universal

Christmas Island

18 years of age

Cocos (Keeling) Islands

18 years of age

Hong Kong

  • direct election - 18 years of age for half the legislature and a majority of seats in 18 district councils;
  • 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 for the other half of the legislature and an 1,200-member election committee for the chief executive drawn from broad sectoral groupings, central government bodies, municipal organizations, and elected Hong Kong officials

Indonesia

17 years of age; universal and married persons regardless of age

Laos

18 years of age; universal

Macau

  • direct election 18 years of age for some legislative positions, universal for permanent residents living in Macau for the past seven years;
  • indirect election limited to organizations registered as "corporate voters" (257 are currently registered) and a 300-member Election Committee for the Chief Executive (CE) drawn from broad regional groupings, municipal organizations, central government bodies, and elected Macau officials

Malaysia

21 years of age; universal

Philippines

18 years of age; universal

Singapore

21 years of age; universal and compulsory

Taiwan

20 years of age; universal

Thailand

18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Timor-Leste

17 years of age; universal

Vietnam

18 years of age; universal

Cite this page

Central Intelligence Agency. The World Factbook 2011, “Suffrage”, all entries. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/fields/suffrage/2011.

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