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Field Listing :: Suffrage
This entry gives the age at enfranchisement and whether the right to vote is universal or restricted.
By Country Listing of the values for the Suffrage field
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 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
19 years of age; universal
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
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