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Field Listing :: Suffrage

This entry gives the age at enfranchisement and whether the right to vote is universal or restricted.

Country	Suffrage


Afghanistan	18 years of age; universal


Albania	18 years of age; universal


Algeria	18 years of age; universal


American Samoa	18 years of age; universal


Andorra	18 years of age; universal


Angola	18 years of age; universal


Anguilla	18 years of age; universal


Antigua and Barbuda	18 years of age; universal


Argentina	18-70 years of age; universal and compulsory


Armenia	18 years of age; universal


Aruba	18 years of age; universal


Australia	18 years of age; universal and compulsory


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


Azerbaijan	18 years of age; universal


Bahamas, The	18 years of age; universal


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


Bangladesh	18 years of age; universal


Barbados	18 years of age; universal


Belarus	18 years of age; universal


Belgium	18 years of age; universal and compulsory


Belize	18 years of age; universal


Benin	18 years of age; universal


Bermuda	18 years of age; universal


Bhutan	18 years of age; universal


Bolivia	18 years of age, universal and compulsory


Bosnia and Herzegovina	18 years of age, 16 if employed; universal


Botswana	18 years of age; universal


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


British Virgin Islands	18 years of age; universal


Brunei	18 years of age for village elections; universal


Bulgaria	18 years of age; universal


Burkina Faso	18 years of age; universal


Burma	18 years of age; universal


Burundi	18 years of age; universal


Cambodia	18 years of age; universal


Cameroon	20 years of age; universal


Canada	18 years of age; universal


Cape Verde	18 years of age; universal


Cayman Islands	18 years of age; universal


Central African Republic	18 years of age; universal


Chad	18 years of age; universal


Chile	18 years of age; universal and compulsory


China	18 years of age; universal


Christmas Island	18 years of age


Cocos (Keeling) Islands	18 years of age


Colombia	18 years of age; universal


Comoros	18 years of age; universal


Congo, Democratic Republic of the	18 years of age; universal and compulsory


Congo, Republic of the	18 years of age; universal


Cook Islands	18 years of age; universal


Costa Rica	18 years of age; universal and compulsory


Cote d'Ivoire	18 years of age; universal


Croatia	18 years of age, 16 if employed; universal


Cuba	16 years of age; universal


Curacao	18 years of age; universal


Cyprus	18 years of age; universal


Czech Republic	18 years of age; universal


Denmark	18 years of age; universal


Djibouti	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


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


Egypt	18 years of age; universal and compulsory


El Salvador	18 years of age; universal


Equatorial Guinea	18 years of age; universal


Eritrea	18 years of age; universal


Estonia	18 years of age; universal for all Estonian citizens


Ethiopia	18 years of age; universal


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


Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)	18 years of age; universal


Faroe Islands	18 years of age; universal


Fiji	21 years of age; universal


Finland	18 years of age; universal


France	18 years of age; universal


French Polynesia	18 years of age; universal


Gabon	18 years of age; universal


Gambia, The	18 years of age; universal


Georgia	18 years of age; universal


Germany	18 years of age; universal


Ghana	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


Greenland	18 years of age; universal


Grenada	18 years of age; universal


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


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


Guernsey	16 years of age; universal


Guinea	18 years of age; universal


Guinea-Bissau	18 years of age; universal


Guyana	18 years of age; universal


Haiti	18 years of age; universal


Holy See (Vatican City)	limited to cardinals less than 80 years old


Honduras	18 years of age; universal and compulsory

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 800-member election committee for the chief executive drawn from broad sectoral groupings, central government bodies, and municipal organizations


Hungary	18 years of age; universal


Iceland	18 years of age; universal


India	18 years of age; universal


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


Iran	18 years of age; universal


Iraq	18 years of age; universal


Ireland	18 years of age; universal


Isle of Man	16 years of age; universal


Israel	18 years of age; universal


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


Jamaica	18 years of age; universal


Japan	20 years of age; universal


Jersey	16 years of age; universal


Jordan	18 years of age; universal


Kazakhstan	18 years of age; universal


Kenya	18 years of age; universal


Kiribati	18 years of age; universal


Korea, North	17 years of age; universal


Korea, South	19 years of age; universal


Kosovo	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


Kyrgyzstan	18 years of age; universal


Laos	18 years of age; universal


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; excludes military personnel


Lesotho	18 years of age; universal


Liberia	18 years of age; universal


Libya	18 years of age; universal and technically compulsory


Liechtenstein	18 years of age; universal


Lithuania	18 years of age; universal


Luxembourg	18 years of age; universal and compulsory


Macau	direct election 18 years of age for some non-executive 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 drawn from broad regional groupings, municipal organizations, and central government bodies


Macedonia	18 years of age; universal


Madagascar	18 years of age; universal


Malawi	18 years of age; universal


Malaysia	21 years of age; universal


Maldives	18 years of age; universal


Mali	18 years of age; universal


Malta	18 years of age; universal


Marshall Islands	18 years of age; universal


Mauritania	18 years of age; universal


Mauritius	18 years of age; universal


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


Micronesia, Federated States of	18 years of age; universal


Moldova	18 years of age; universal


Monaco	18 years of age; universal


Mongolia	18 years of age; universal


Montenegro	18 years of age; universal


Montserrat	18 years of age; universal


Morocco	18 years of age; universal


Mozambique	18 years of age; universal


Namibia	18 years of age; universal


Nauru	20 years of age; universal and compulsory


Nepal	18 years of age; universal


Netherlands	18 years of age; universal


New Caledonia	18 years of age; universal


New Zealand	18 years of age; universal


Nicaragua	16 years of age; universal


Niger	18 years of age; universal


Nigeria	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


Norway	18 years of age; universal


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


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


Palau	18 years of age; universal


Panama	18 years of age; universal and compulsory


Papua New Guinea	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


Philippines	18 years of age; universal


Pitcairn Islands	18 years of age; universal with three years residency


Poland	18 years of age; universal


Portugal	18 years of age; universal


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


Qatar	18 years of age; universal


Romania	18 years of age; universal


Russia	18 years of age; universal


Rwanda	18 years of age; universal


Saint Barthelemy	18 years of age, universal


Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha	NA


Saint Kitts and Nevis	18 years of age; universal


Saint Lucia	18 years of age; universal


Saint Martin	18 years of age, universal


Saint Pierre and Miquelon	18 years of age; universal


Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	18 years of age; universal


Samoa	21 years of age; universal


San Marino	18 years of age; universal


Sao Tome and Principe	18 years of age; universal


Saudi Arabia	21 years of age; male


Senegal	18 years of age; universal


Serbia	18 years of age; universal


Seychelles	17 years of age; universal


Sierra Leone	18 years of age; universal


Singapore	21 years of age; universal and compulsory


Sint Maarten	18 years of age; universal


Slovakia	18 years of age; universal


Slovenia	18 years of age, 16 if employed; universal


Solomon Islands	21 years of age; universal


Somalia	18 years of age; universal


South Africa	18 years of age; universal


Spain	18 years of age; universal


Sri Lanka	18 years of age; universal


Sudan	17 years of age; universal


Suriname	18 years of age; universal


Swaziland	18 years of age


Sweden	18 years of age; universal


Switzerland	18 years of age; universal


Syria	18 years of age; universal


Taiwan	20 years of age; universal


Tajikistan	18 years of age; universal


Tanzania	18 years of age; universal


Thailand	18 years of age; universal and compulsory


Timor-Leste	17 years of age; universal


Togo	18 years of age; universal


Tokelau	21 years of age; universal


Tonga	21 years of age; universal


Trinidad and Tobago	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


Turkey	18 years of age; universal


Turkmenistan	18 years of age; universal


Turks and Caicos Islands	18 years of age; universal


Tuvalu	18 years of age; universal


Uganda	18 years of age; universal


Ukraine	18 years of age; universal


United Arab Emirates	none


United Kingdom	18 years of age; universal


United States	18 years of age; universal


Uruguay	18 years of age; universal and compulsory


Uzbekistan	18 years of age; universal


Vanuatu	18 years of age; universal


Venezuela	18 years of age; universal


Vietnam	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


Wallis and Futuna	18 years of age; universal


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


Yemen	18 years of age; universal


Zambia	18 years of age; universal


Zimbabwe	18 years of age; universal

The online Factbook is updated weekly. ISSN 1553-8133
For additional information on government leaders in selected foreign countries, go to World Leaders.