Voting for elected officials is a freedom afforded to the citizens of many (but not all) countries around the world. The right to vote is particularly likely in democratic countries and republics. However, not every person eligible to vote does. The reasons for this phenomenon vary: some potential voters have no interest in politics or feel their vote doesn't matter, some dislike the available candidates, and others lack certain material requirements—for example, a government-issue I.D. is required in more than half of U.S. states. Show Top 10 Countries with the Highest Voter Turnout:**Computed by most recent national presidential or parliamentary election within the past 20 years. Results from Somalia (1984) and Angola (1992) have been omitted due to age. Rwanda and Singapore ranked in the top 10 based upon both presidential and parliamentary elections. In both cases, the highest score was chosen. Voter Turnout by CountryBased on data from the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), Rwanda has displayed the highest voter turnout in a recent national election. Several additional African or Asian countries also show strikingly high voter turnout, including Laos, Turkmenistan, Singapore, Vietnam, and Nauru. It is worthwhile to note that high voter turnout does not always indicate a healthy election, especially in fourth world or global south countries. For example, watchdog group Freedom House gives Rwanda a score of 4 points out of a possible 28 in the categories of the electoral process and political participation, stating that Rwandan elections are "marred by numerous irregularities," which included forcing citizens to view propaganda, preventing certain candidates from running, unfair registration practices, and stuffing ballot boxes. Similarly, Laos (which earns 0 of 28 points) is ruled by a single political party that chooses which candidates will appear on the ballot. As such, it is fair to question even the official turnout numbers. That said, high voter turnout can be achieved in free and fair elections as well. For example, the island nations of Antigua and Barbuda (26 of 28) and Nauru (26 of 28) have both obtained turnout percentages over 90%. Recent trends in voter turnoutGlobally, voter turnout has decreased over time in recent decades, with most countries posting lower voter turnout in recent elections than in those which took place 20-30 years ago. Election experts have identified multiple causes for this trend. Voter apathy is one—young voters in particular are more likely to be unaware of the voting process or disenchanted with what they see as a corrupt and dysfunctional system. Another influential cause is voter suppression, especially in countries classified by the Democracy Index as flawed democracies or authoritarian regimes. On a more positive note, election experts also point out that lower turnout can also be a positive sign that the right to vote is being extended to more and more people. Throughout history, voting was often confined to rich, usually white males who could easily take time off work to vote. However, voting is now more likely to be available to women, blue-collar workers, and minorities who were often previously denied voting rights and who may not be able to rearrange their lives in order to vote on a specific day or time. This reality is one of the main reasons that many states and countries are working to expand voting access by offering mail-in ballots, longer voting hours, and other voting aids. Top 10 Countries with the Lowest Voter Turnout:**
**Computed by most recent national presidential or parliamentary election within the past 20 years. Haiti qualified for the list twice, once for its presidential election (18.11%) and again for its parliamentary election. The lower score was used. Voter turnout in the United StatesIn the 2020 U.S. presidential election, an estimated 158 million Americans turned out to vote. About 66.5% of eligible voters voted in the 2020 election, the highest turnout since 1900. The 2020 election saw about 20 million more votes than the 137 million in the 2016 election. Only about 55.72% of eligible voters voted in the 2016 election. Even in the 2020 election, U.S. voter turnout lagged behind that of several developed nations around the world. When voting doesn't matter: The corruption of national electionsThe fact that a country or state holds public elections is not a guarantee that the elections are free or fair. Election scandals both large and small are quite common in most countries, from accusations of ballot box stuffing or improper counting procedures to unreasonable voting requirements. Authoritarian regimes have access to more sinister tactics, such as outlawing all other politcal parties or candidates, and fully controlling every aspect of the voting process. Even in elections that are otherwise fair, the gerrymandering of voting districts can give one party an unnatural advantage and deliver a result contrary to the desires of the people as a whole.
The Voter Turnout data presented in this website is based on data gathered from desk research by International IDEA staff, surveys to Electoral Management Bodies and the International IDEA publications Voter Turnout in Western Europe since 1945 (2004) and Voter Turnout since 1945 (2002). Data in this database have been regularly updated since its launch and users are able to make contributions to help International IDEA keep the Voter Turnout database up to date. A comment on Registered Voters and Voting Age PopulationIn this database we use the Voting Age Population (VAP), as well as the number of Registered Voters (REG) as indicators of political participation. The VAP figure includes an estimated number of all those citizens over the legal voting age, while the registration rate comprises the actual number of people on the voters’ roll. The users of the database will notice that in some instances the registration rate (REG) for a country actually exceeds the estimated number of eligible voters (VAP). The explanation for this apparent anomaly usually lies either in the inaccuracy of the electoral roll, or in the estimated number of eligible voters (VAP). In some countries, the roll is extremely difficult to keep up to date, and deaths or movements of electors from one district to another are not reflected in the roll, something which is a common problem facing electoral administrators around the world. It is important to emphasize that the registration figures are, in most cases, more recently updated than population figures. The VAP is based on the most recent population census figure available. Although not an exact figure, it is a reflection of the demographic trend and estimated population growth of a country. Choosing the electionsThe criteria for including an election in the database are the following: That the election was held after 1945. That the election is for national political office in independent nation states, with the exception of those nations which held elections on the eve of their independence from colonial rule (such as Nigeria in 1959), those small island nations whose sovereignty is limited by "free association" with a larger power (such as Aruba) or elections to the EU parliament. That there was a degree of competitiveness (that is, more than one party contested the elections, or one party and independents contested the elections, or the election was only contested by independent candidates). This criterion excluded the one-party states of North Korea, China, and the Soviet Union, but led to the inclusion of elections, such as, Uganda 1995 (where parties were banned) and Egypt 1976 where a number of independent candidates ran against the ruling party. Within the grey area of competitiveness we have erred on the side of inclusion and, at least where the data is available, have included the turnout figures and explanatory variables in the tables for each country. That the franchise was universal. However, for the purposes of comparison we have included elections in Liechtenstein (pre-1986), Switzerland (pre-1971), Greece (pre-1956), Belgium (1948), Kuwait (1992-1996), Bahrain (1973) and Argentina (1947) which excluded women from voting. In these cases, the voting age population figure only includes men. We have not included elections where the franchise was limited to a very small (and ethnically defined) segment of the population, e.g., South Africa (before 1994), Western Samoa (before 1991). The Voter Turnout database has been expanded of the data from the European Parliament elections that have been of an increasing importance in Europe. The EP elections are not only a hotly debated problem in European media but also quite a challenging issue for their general low voter turnout. We are entirely aware of the fact that the EP elections differ from the concept of the particular country elections that we have solely focused on so far but we believe this data is of a high relevance to our database. Updating the database Since the launch of the voter turnout database, the Electoral Processes Programme at International IDEA has ensured that the data have been regularly updated. The primary sources for the data on voter registration, total vote and corresponding voter turnout are the national electoral management bodies (EMBs) and national statistical bureaus of countries listed in the database. Data from the EMBs are obtained from either their official reports or information provided in their official web portals. In few cases, when data are not available from the EMBs, the information on voter turnout is obtained from secondary sources as listed above. Population and VAP statistics are always obtained from secondary sources. In addition, inputs and suggestions from the users of the database are also regularly taken into account. Like all International IDEA databases, the voter turnout database has a feature which allows users to provide voter turnout or other related information for a specific country and/or election. When a user suggests an update for the data available in the database or provides information for the missing data, this information is sent automatically to the respective staff in the Electoral Processes team who can verify this information and make updates if the data provided are correct.
International IDEA’s Voter Turnout Database contains data only for elections that were held for national political office and EU parliamentary elections. More information on local elections can be found at regional resources such as Political Database of the Americas: http://pdba.georgetown.edu/Elecdata/Sur/sur.html
There are many countries in the world that do not have democratic elections and where suffrage rights are obviously limited. There is a global history of franchise, containing information on the spread of universal suffrage, to be found at: http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/suffrage.htm
Voting Age Population (VAP) refers to the total number of potential voters of voting age in a given country. The VAP figure is a rough estimate and it does not take into account the fact that there might be people who are above voting age but still not enfranchised due to legal or systemic barriers. The estimate gives an approximate figure of the number of eligible people but it does not reflect the exact number. VAP might differ largely from the number of registered people since registration in many countries is voluntary or not accurate. In countries where registration is compulsory and automatic, and based on the civil register, for example as in the Scandinavian countries, the VAP figure and the number of registered voters are quite close.
The ACE Electoral Knowledge Network is the world’s largest repository of electoral knowledge. It is a comprehensive and systematic collection of information on every aspect relating to the organisation and implementation of elections. Access the ACE network at www.aceproject.org.
The most common voting age in the world is 18 years. Twenty or twenty-one is also used in some countries. Some countries such as Argentina, Austria, Brazil, and Cuba have the lowest voting age in the world and allow 16 year olds to vote. The highest voting age is 21 and this is practised in several countries such as Lebanon, Oman, Tonga and Singapore. For more information about voting age, please see ACE Electoral Knowledge Network: Comparative Data.
Voting by mail is the most common form of absentee voting. There has been much discussion on the use of Internet voting as a method for increasing voter turnout at elections. Read more about voting by mail, internet voting and other types of external voting in Voting from Abroad: The International IDEA Handbook. International IDEA’s ICTs in Elections Database contains global data on the use of several types of electronic voting in elections, including internet voting.
The fact that some countries display a larger number of registered voters than voting age population (VAP) might seem odd. In some cases this is the result of a typo or inaccurate information provided by the EMB, but it might also be caused by a number of issues relating to both the process of registration and the actual estimation of the figures. The first thing that is important to remember is that the figures for voting age population are always based on estimates. As with all estimates, the numbers might be significantly different from the true values. Also, worthy of notice is that the data collected for VAP on the one hand, and the data for registered voters on the other, are acquired from different sources (mainly the Electoral Management Body in the case of the latter, and UN Demographic Yearbook for the former). These sources might in turn also use different estimates, resulting in discrepancies between the two measures. Finally, the number of registered voters can be inaccurate if the voters list is flawed. There might be asymmetries present in the registration process; some voters could be registered twice or the authorities might have failed to remove certain people who are no longer eligible to vote (such as deceased voters or voters who have left the country). This might be because of short-comings in the way that registration of voters is organized (unclear delegation of responsibility between institutions, problems of communication etc.) or because of other factors that might over- or underestimate the actual number of registered voters. For more information about these issues, please see the ACE Encyclopaedia: Voter Registration.
Yes, there are two options to export all the data in the Voter Turnout Database in excel file:
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