Suffrage

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

• 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 for national elections

• 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

• Azerbaijan

  18 years of age; universal

• Bahamas, The

  18 years of age; universal

• Bahrain

  20 years of age; universal

• 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 18 years of age, over 70, and if illiterate; compulsory between 18 to 70 years of age; note - military conscripts by law cannot 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

• 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

• 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; universal

• Cuba

  16 years of age; universal

• Curacao

  18 years of age; universal

• Cyprus

  18 years of age; universal

• Czechia

  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 by law cannot vote

• Ecuador

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

• 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; age 16 for local elections

• Eswatini

  18 years of age

• Ethiopia

  18 years of age; universal

• European Union

  18 years of age (16 years in Austria); 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

  18 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; age 16 for some state and municipal elections

• Ghana

  18 years of age; universal

• Gibraltar

  18 years of age; universal; and British citizens with six months residence or more

• Greece

  17 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 by law cannot 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)

  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 of the Legislative Council seats and all of the seats in 18 district councils; universal for permanent residents living in the territory of Hong Kong for the past 7 years; note - in indirect elections, suffrage is limited to about 220,000 members of functional constituencies for the other half of the legislature and a 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 and marriage is registered in Hungary; 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; 17 years of age for municipal elections

• Italy

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

• Jamaica

  18 years of age; universal

• Japan

  18 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 and compulsory

• Korea, South

  18years of age; universal; note - the voting age was lowered from 19 to 18 beginning with the 2020 national election

• Kosovo

  18 years of age; universal

• Kuwait

  21 years of age and at least 20-year citizenship

• Kyrgyzstan

  18 years of age; universal

• Laos

  18 years of age; universal

• Latvia

  18 years of age; universal

• Lebanon

  21 years of age; authorized for all men and women regardless of religion; excludes persons convicted of felonies and other crimes or those imprisoned; excludes all military and security service personnel regardless of rank

• 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 7 years; note - indirect elections are limited to organizations registered as "corporate voters" and an election committee for the chief executive drawn from broad regional groupings, municipal organizations, central government bodies, and elected Macau officials

• Madagascar

  18 years of age; universal

• Malawi

  18 years of age; universal

• Malaysia

  18 years of age; universal (2019)

• Maldives

  18 years of age; universal

• Mali

  18 years of age; universal

• Malta

  18 years of age (16 in local council elections); 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

• 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

• North Macedonia

  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 cannot 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

• 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

  18 years of age; restricted to males; universal for municipal elections

• 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

• Sweden

  18 years of age; universal

• Switzerland

  18 years of age; universal

• Syria

  18 years of age; universal

• Taiwan

  20 years of age; universal; note - in mid-2016, the Legislative Yuan drafted a constitutional amendment to reduce the voting age to 18, but it has not passed as of December 2017

• 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 Emirati citizens

• 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

• Yemen

  18 years of age; universal

• Zambia

  18 years of age; universal

• Zimbabwe

  18 years of age; universal