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; 16-17 years of age - optional

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 to under 18 years of age and over 70; compulsory 18 to 70 years of age; note - military conscripts do not vote by law

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

Cabo Verde	18 years of age; universal

Cambodia	18 years of age; universal

Cameroon	20 years of age; universal

Canada	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 voluntary

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 can vote; note - members of the armed forces and national police cannot vote by law

Ecuador	18-65 years of age, universal and compulsory; 16-18, over 65, and other eligible voters, optional

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

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; note - Guamanians are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections

Guatemala	18 years of age; universal; note - active duty members of the armed forces and police may not vote by law 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)	election of the pope is limited to cardinals less than 80 years old

Honduras	18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Hong Kong

18 years of age in direct elections 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; note - in indirect elections, suffrage is 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

Hungary	18 years of age, 16 if married; 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 by law not allowed to vote; 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

Liechtenstein	18 years of age; universal

Lithuania	18 years of age; universal

Luxembourg	18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Macau

18 years of age in direct elections for some legislative positions, universal for permanent residents living in Macau for the past seven years; note - indirect elections are limited to organizations registered as "corporate voters" (973 were registered in the 2009 legislative elections) 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

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, 16 if employed; 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; note - 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 by law are not allowed to vote

Pakistan	18 years of age; universal; note - there are 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 until the age of 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; note - 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	18 years of age

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, 16 if employed; universal

Seychelles	18 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

South Sudan	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	limited; note - rulers of the seven Emirates each select a proportion of voters for the Federal National Council (FNC) that together account for about 12 percent of the native Emirati population

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; note - 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