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The voting age is the minimum legal age at which a person may vote in a governmental election.
Voting ages around the world
A
- Afghanistan: 18
- Albania: 18
- Algeria: 18
- American Samoa: 18
- Andorra: 18
- Angola: 18
- Anguilla: 18
- Antigua and Barbuda: 18
- Argentina: 18
- Armenia: 18
- Aruba: 18
- Australia: 18
- Austria: 18 (16 for municipal elections in the states of Burgenland, Carinthia, Styria and Vienna *)
- Azerbaijan: 18
B
- Bahamas: 18
- Bahrain: 18
- Bangladesh: 18
- Barbados: 18
- Belarus: 18
- Belgium: 18
- Belize: 18
- Benin: 18
- Bermuda: 18
- Bhutan: each family has one vote in village-level elections; note - in late 2003 Bhutan's legislature passed a new election law
- Bolivia: 18 years of age, universal and compulsory (married); 21 years of age, universal and compulsory (single)
- Bosnia and Herzegovina: 18
- Botswana: 18
- Brazil: 16 (mandatory suffrage from 18 to 70, military conscripts do not vote)
- British Virgin Islands: 18
- Brunei: no suffrage
- Bulgaria: 18
- Burkina Faso: universal
- Burundi: universal adult
C
- Cambodia: 18
- Cameroon: 20
- Canada: 18
- Cape Verde: 18
- Cayman Islands: 18
- Central African Republic: 21
- Chad: 18
- Chile: 18
- China, People's Republic of: 18
- Colombia: 18
- Comoros: 18
- Congo, Democratic Republic of the: 18
- Congo, Republic of the: 18
- Cook Islands: universal adult
- Costa Rica: 18
- Cote d'Ivoire: 18
- Croatia: 18 (16 if employed)
- Cuba: 16
- Cyprus: 18
- Czech republic: 18
D
- Denmark: 18
- Djibouti: 18
- Dominica: 18
- Dominican Republic: 18 years of age, universal and compulsory; married persons regardless of age (members of the armed forces and national police cannot vote)
E
- East Timor: 17
- Ecuador: 18
- Egypt: 18
- El Salvador: 18
- Equatorial Guinea: 18
- Eritrea: 18
- Estonia: 18 years of age; universal for all Estonian citizens
- Ethiopia: 18
- European Union: 18
F
- Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas): 18
- Faroe Islands: 18
- Fiji: 21
- Finland: 18
- France: 18
- French Guiana: 18
- French Polynesia: 18
G
- Gabon: 21
- Gambia: 18
- Georgia: 18
- Germany: 18 (16 for municipal elections in the states of Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saxony-Anhalt and Schleswig-Holstein *)
- Ghana: 18
- Gibraltar: 18 years of age; universal, plus other British citizens who have been residents six months or more
- Greece: 18
- Greenland: 18
- Grenada: 18
- Guadeloupe: 18
- Guam: 18 years of age; universal; US citizens, but do not vote in US presidential elections
- Guatemala: 18 years of age; universal (active duty members of the armed forces may not vote and are restricted to their barracks on election day)
- Guernsey: 18
- Guinea: 18
- Guinea-Bissau: 18
- Guyana: 18
H
- Haiti: 18
- Holy See (Vatican City): limited to cardinals less than 80 years old
- Honduras: 18
- Hong Kong: 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 200,000 members of functional constituencies and an 800-member election committee drawn from broad regional groupings, municipal organizations, and central government bodies
- Hungary: 18
I
- Iceland: 18
- India: 18
- Indonesia: 17 years of age; universal and married persons regardless of age
- Iran: 15
- Iraq: formerly 18 years of age; universal
- Ireland: 18
- Isle of Man: 16 (recently changed from 18; still to be ratified by the Legislative Council and the Lord of Mann)
- Italy: 18; 25 to elect the Senate
J
K
- Kazakhstan: 18
- Kenya: 18
- Kiribati: 18
- Korea, North: 17
- Korea, South: 19
- Kuwait: adult males who are not in the military forces, and adult females (as of 16 May 2005); all voters must have been citizens for 20 years
- Kyrgyzstan: 18
L
- Laos: 18
- Latvia: 18 years of age; universal for Latvian citizens
- Lebanon: 21 years of age; compulsory for all males; authorized for women at age 21 with elementary education
- Lesotho: 18
- Liberia: 18
- Libya: 18
- Liechtenstein: 18
- Lithuania: 18
- Luxembourg: 18
M
- Macau: 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" (257 are currently registered) and a 300-member Election Committee drawn from broad regional groupings, municipal organizations, and central government bodies
- Macedonia: 18
- Madagascar: 18
- Malawi: 18
- Malaysia: 21
- Maldives: 21
- Mali: 18
- Malta: 18
- Marshall Islands: 18
- Martinique: 18
- Mauritania: 18
- Mauritius: 18
- Mayotte: 18
- Mexico: 18
- Micronesia, Federated States of: 18
- Moldova: 18
- Monaco: 18
- Mongolia: 18
- Montserrat: 18
- Morocco: 18
- Mozambique: 18
- Myanmar (Burma): 18
N
- Namibia: 18
- Nauru: 20
- Nepal: 18
- Netherlands: 18
- Netherlands Antilles: 18
- New Caledonia: 18
- New Zealand: 18
- Nicaragua: 16
- Niger: 18
- Nigeria: 18
- Niue: 18
- Norfolk Island: 18
- Northern Mariana Islands: 18 years of age; universal; indigenous inhabitants are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections
- Norway: 18
O
- Oman: in Oman's most recent Majlis al-Shura elections in 2003, suffrage was universal for all Omanis over age 21 except for members of the military and security forces; the next Majlis al-Shura elections are scheduled for 2007
P
- Pakistan: 18 years of age; universal; joint electorates and reserved parliamentary seats for women and non-Muslims
- Palau: 18
- Panama: 18
- Papua New Guinea: 18
- Paraguay: 18
- Peru: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory until the age of 70; (members of the military and national police may not vote)
- Philippines: 18 (increased from 15 years in 1987)
- Pitcairn Islands: 18 years of age; universal with three years residency
- Poland: 18
- Portugal: 18
- Puerto Rico: 18 years of age; universal; island residents are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections
Q
- Qatar: 18
R
S
- Saint Kitts and Nevis: 18
- Saint Lucia: 18
- Saint Pierre and Miquelon: 18
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: 18
- Samoa: 21
- San Marino: 18
- Sao Tome and Principe: 18
- Saudi Arabia: adult male citizens age 21 or older (voter registration began in November 2004 for partial municipal council elections held nationwide from February through April 2005)
- Senegal: 18
- Serbia and Montenegro: 16 years of age, if employed; 18 years of age, universal
- Seychelles: 17
- Sierra Leone: 18
- Singapore: 21
- Slovakia: 18
- Slovenia: 18 years of age; universal (16 years of age, if employed)
- Solomon Islands: 21
- Somalia: 18
- South Africa: 18
- Spain: 18
- Sri Lanka: 18
- Sudan: 17
- Suriname: 18
- Swaziland: 18
- Sweden: 18
- Switzerland: 18
- Syria: 18
T
- Taiwan (Republic of China): 20 (there is a current proposal to lower it to 18)
- Tajikistan: 18
- Tanzania: 18
- Thailand: 18
- Togo: universal adult
- Tokelau: 21
- Tonga: 21
- Trinidad and Tobago: 18
- Tunisia: 20
- Turkey: 18
- Turkmenistan: 18
- Turks and Caicos Islands: 18
- Tuvalu: 18
U
- Uganda: 18
- Ukraine: 18
- United Arab Emirates: no suffrage
- United Kingdom: 18
- United States: 18
- Uruguay: 18
- Uzbekistan: 18
V
- Vanuatu: 18
- Venezuela: 18
- Vietnam: 18
- Virgin Islands of the United States: 18 years of age; universal; island residents are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections
W
- Wallis and Futuna: 18
- Western Sahara: none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign not yet completed
Y
- Yemen: 18
Z
Dates at which voting age was lowered to 18 (from 21 unless indicated)
- Czechoslovakia: 1946
- United Kingdom: 1 January 1970 (Representation of the People Act 1969)
- Germany: 1970
- Canada: 1971
- United States: 1 July 1971 (Constitutional Amendment XXVI; federal voting age previously reduced by the Voting Rights Act 1970)
- Finland: 1972 (from 20)
- Sweden: 1972 (from 20)
- Ireland: 5 January 1973 (Fourth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland)
- Australia: 1973 (New South Wales was the first state to do so, in 1970)
- France: 1974
- New Zealand: 1974
- Italy: 1975 (voting age to elect the Senate remained at 25)
- Denmark: 1978 (from 20; referendum held on 19 September)
- Seychelles: 1979
- Belgium: 1981
- India: 1989
- Switzerland: 1991 (from 20)
- Pakistan: 2002
Organizations which want the voting age lowered or removed
- ASFAR, United States
- National Youth Rights Association, United States
- Votes at 16, United Kingdom
- K.R.Ä.T.Z.Ä., Germany
- vote16.ca, Canada
- vote4future.at, Austrian National Youth Council, Austria
Political organizations that have endorsed lower voting ages
Australia
Austria
Canada
Norway
United Kingdom
See also
External links
- Field Listing - Suffrage from the CIA World Factbook
- A more complete list of voting ages around the world (in German)
- Youth Suffrage Resources
- NYRA's Voting Age Info Dump
AgingElectoral restrictions | Luettelo äänioikeusikärajoista
"Voting age"