Get with it. Speak up through voting, don't complain if you don't participate.
A[edit]
- Afghanistan: 18
- Albania: 18
- Algeria: 18
- American Samoa: 18
- Andorra: 18
- Angola: 18
- Anguilla: 18
- Antigua and Barbuda: 18
- Argentina: 16, 16 to 18 and 70+ optional.
- Armenia: 18
- Aruba:18
- Australia: 18 (compulsory for all over 18, voluntary enrolment accepted at 16 & 17 but cannot vote until after turned 18http://www.aec.gov.au/enrol/)
- Austria: 16[23]
- Azerbaijan: 18
B[edit]
- Bahamas: 18
- Bahrain: 20 (Bahraini Cabinet in May 2011 endorsed a draft law lowering eligibility to 18 years)[66]
- Bangladesh: 18
- Barbados: 18
- Belarus: 18
- Belgium: 18 (compulsory)
- Belize: 18
- Benin: 18
- Bermuda: 18
- Bhutan: 18
- Bolivia: 18, universal and compulsory
- Bosnia and Herzegovina: 18, 16 if employed
- Botswana: 18
- Brazil: 18 to 70 compulsory, 16 to under 18 AND over 70 optional. Voting is also optional to all illiterate citizens older than 16.
- British Virgin Islands: 18
- Brunei: 18 (village elections only)
- Bulgaria: 18
- Burkina Faso: 18
- Burundi: 18
C[edit]
- Cambodia: 18
- Cameroon: 21
- Canada: 18
- Cape Verde: 18
- Cayman Islands: 18
- Central African Republic: 18
- Chad: 18
- Chile: 18
- China, People's Republic of: 18 - * Rigid controlled selection of candidates through Chinese Communist Party agencies
- Cocos (Keeling) Islands: 18
- Colombia: 18
- Comoros: 18
- Congo, Democratic Republic of the: 18
- Congo, Republic of the: 18
- Cook Islands: 18
- Costa Rica: 18
- Côte d'Ivoire: 18
- Croatia: 18
- Cuba: 16
- Curaçao: 18
- Cyprus: 18
- Czech Republic: 18
D[edit]
- Denmark: 18
- Djibouti: 18
- Dominica: 18
- Dominican Republic: 18, universal and compulsory; married persons regardless of age (members of the armed forces and national police cannot vote)
E[edit]
- East Timor: 17
- Ecuador: 16; universal, compulsory for literate persons ages 18–65, optional for other eligible voters
- Egypt: 18
- El Salvador: 18
- Equatorial Guinea: 18
- Eritrea: 18
- Estonia: 18; 16 for local elections
- Ethiopia: 17
- European Union: 18
F[edit]
- Falkland Islands: 18
- Faroe Islands: 18
- Fiji: 18, as of 2013 Constitution (previously 21)
- Finland: 18
- France: 18
- French Guiana: 18
- French Polynesia: 18
G[edit]
- Gabon: 18
- Gambia: 18
- Georgia: 18
- Germany: 18
- Voting age 16 for state elections:
Brandenburg, 
Bremen, 
Hamburg and 
Schleswig-Holstein. - Voting age 16 for municipal elections:
Baden-Württemberg, 
Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, 
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, 
Lower Saxony, 
North Rhine-Westphalia, 
Saxony-Anhalt and Schleswig-Holstein.[67]
- Voting age 16 for state elections:
- Ghana: 18
- Gibraltar: 18; universal, plus other British citizens who have been residents six months or more
- Greece: 18
- Greenland: 18
- Grenada: 18
- Guadeloupe: 18
- Guam: 18; universal; US citizens, but do not vote in US presidential elections
- Guatemala: 18; universal (active duty members of the armed forces may not vote and are restricted to their barracks on election day)
- Guernsey: 16[68]
- Guinea: 18
- Guinea-Bissau: 18
- Guyana: 18
H[edit]
- Haiti: 18
- 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 220,000 members of functional constituencies and an 1,200-member election committee drawn from broad regional groupings, municipal organizations, and central government bodies
- Hungary: 18
I[edit]
- Iceland: 18
- India: 18
- Indonesia: 17; universal and married persons regardless of age. except for the military and police
- Iran: 18 (changed from 15 Years to 18 Years in 2007, but that was changed back in 2009 and changed again to 18 in 2011)[55][69][70][71]
- Iraq: 18
- Ireland: 18
- Isle of Man: 16
- Israel: 18 (17 for municipal elections)
- Italy: 18 (25 for Senate elections)
J[edit]
- Jamaica: 18 years
- Japan: 20 years (Changed to 18 in 2016)[4]
- Jersey: 16 years
- Jordan: 18 years
K[edit]
- Kazakhstan: 18
- Kenya: 18
- Kiribati: 18
- Korea, North: 17; members of the military have the right to vote, regardless of age[72]
- Korea, South: 19
- Kosovo: 18
- Kuwait: 21; females and males who are not in the military or police forces; all voters must have been citizens for 20 years; current proposal for reduction to 18[73]
- Kyrgyzstan: 18
L[edit]
- Laos: 18
- Latvia: 18; universal for Latvian citizens
- Lebanon: 21, tried to amend to 18 on 22 February 2010 but failed to pass.[74]
- Lesotho: 18
- Liberia: 18
- Libya: 18
- Liechtenstein: 18
- Lithuania: 18
- Luxembourg: 18
M[edit]
- 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" (973 are currently registered) and a 300-member Election Committee drawn from broad regional groupings, municipal organizations, and central government bodies
- Republic of Macedonia: 18
- Madagascar: 18
- Malawi: 18
- Malaysia: 21
- For Youth Parliament of Malaysia: 15 to 40
- Maldives: 18
- Mali: 18
- Malta: 18, however a motion has been passed in parliament to lower the voting age for local council elections (starting from 2015) to 16
- Marshall Islands: 18
- Martinique: 18
- Mauritania: 18
- Mauritius: 18
- Mayotte: 18
- Mexico: 18
- Micronesia, Federated States of: 18
- Moldova: 18
- Monaco: 18
- Mongolia: 18
- Montenegro: 18
- Montserrat: 18
- Morocco: 18
- Mozambique: 18
- Myanmar (Burma): 18
N[edit]
- Namibia: 18
- Nauru: 20
- Nepal: 18
- Netherlands: 18
- New Caledonia: 18
- New Zealand: 18
- Nicaragua: 16
- Niger: 18
- Nigeria: 18
- Niue: 18
- Norfolk Island: 18
- Northern Mariana Islands: 18; universal; indigenous inhabitants are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections
- Norway: 18; however, persons 17 years of age are permitted to vote in parliamentary elections if they will be 18 years of age in the year the election is held.
O[edit]
- Oman: 21, universal except for members of the military and police.
P[edit]
- Pakistan: 18; universal; joint electorates and reserved parliamentary seats for women and non-Muslims
- Palau: 18
- Panama: 18
- Papua New Guinea: 18
- Paraguay: 18; universal and compulsory until the age of 75
- Peru: 18; universal and compulsory until the age of 70; (members of the military and national police could not vote until a Constitutional Reform in 2005 [75])
- Philippines: 18
- For youth councils: 15 to 18; previously from 15 to 21. Incumbent are allowed to keep their positions if they surpassed the legal age.
- Pitcairn Islands: 18; universal with three years' residency
- Poland: 18
- Portugal: 18
- Puerto Rico: 18; universal; island residents are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections
Q[edit]
- Qatar: 18
R[edit]
- Réunion: 18
- Romania: 18
- Russia: 18
- Rwanda: 18
S[edit]
- Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha: 18
- Saint Kitts and Nevis: 18
- Saint Lucia: 18
- Saint Pierre and Miquelon: 18
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: 18
- Samoa: 21
- San Marino: 18
- São Tomé and Príncipe: 18
- Saudi Arabia: adult male citizens age 18 or older (for partial municipal council elections and women to be allowed by2015)
- Scotland: 16
- Senegal: 18
- Serbia: 18[76]
- Seychelles: 18[77]
- Sierra Leone: 18
- Singapore: 21
- Sint Maarten: 18
- Slovakia: 18
- Slovenia: 18
- Solomon Islands: 21
- Somalia: 18
- South Africa: 18
- South Sudan: 17
- Spain: 18 (The age was lowered down to 16 for Catalonia's 9N Referendum, but that was an exception)
- Sri Lanka: 18
- Sudan: 17
- Suriname: 18
- Swaziland: 18
- Sweden: 18
- Switzerland: 18 (16 for cantonal and municipal elections in the canton of Glarus[58][59] [1/26])
- Syria: 18
T[edit]
- Taiwan (Republic of China): 20 (there is a current proposal to lower it to 18)[78]
- Tajikistan: 18
- Tanzania: 18
- Thailand: 18 (compulsory only for Thai-Cititzens, who are Thai-Cititzens from Birth on)
- Togo: 18
- Tokelau: 21
- Tonga: 21
- Trinidad and Tobago: 18
- Tunisia: 18 (with some exceptions)[79]
- Turkey: 18
- Turkmenistan: 18
- Turks and Caicos Islands: 18
- Tuvalu: 18
U[edit]
- Uganda: 18
- Ukraine: 18
- United Arab Emirates: none[80] but at least 25 (the minimum age is decided by the ruler of each Emirate and may vary from one Emirate to another)[81]
- United Kingdom: 18 (16 for the Scottish independence referendum, Scottish Parliament elections and Scottish local government elections.[36])
- United States: 18; however, in many states, persons 17 years of age are permitted to vote in primary elections if they will be 18 years of age on or before the day of the general election.
- Uruguay: 18
- Uzbekistan: 18[82]
V[edit]
- Vanuatu: 18
- Venezuela: 18
- Vietnam: 18
- Virgin Islands of the United States: 18; universal; island residents are U.S. citizens but do not vote in U.S. presidential elections
W[edit]
- Wallis and Futuna: 18
- Western Sahara: none; (residents of Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara participate in Moroccan elections, Age 18)[80]
Y[edit]
- Yemen: 18
Z[edit]
- Zambia: 18
- Zimbabwe: 18
Chronology of lowering the voting age to 18[edit]
The following is a chronological list of the dates upon which countries lowered the voting age to 18; unless otherwise indicated, the reduction was from 21. In some cases the age was lowered decrementally, and so the "staging points" are also given. Some information is also included on the relevant legal instruments involved.
- Turkey: 20 April 1924 (Previously 25 per the 1876 constitution, reduced to 18 with the 1924 constitution. It was again raised to 22 in 5 December 1934 while granting full women's suffrage, and gradually lowered to 21 in 1961, 20 in 1987 and 18 in 1995)[83][84]
- Czechoslovakia: 1946
- South Africa: 1958 (white voters only; Electoral Law Amendment Act, 1958)[85]
- United Kingdom: 1 January 1970 (Representation of the People Act 1969)
- Canada: 26 June 1970[86][87] (federal elections, amendment to Canada Elections Act)
- non-federal elections: Quebec in 1963,[88] Manitoba on 10 October 1969,[89] Ontario in 1971,[88] Nova Scotia in 1973 following reduction to 19 in 1970[90] and British Columbia in 1992 following reduction to 19 in 1952[91]
- Germany: 1970 [92]
- Netherlands: 1971 (previous reduction from 23 to 21 in 1965)
- United States: 1 July 1971, per the Twenty-sixth Amendment. Previously reduced on 1 January 1971 by the Voting Rights Act Amendments 1970, ss. 302, 305[93] (Prior reductions: Georgia in August 1943,[94] Kentucky in 1955,[95] Guamin 1954[96] and American Samoa in 1965.[96])
- Finland: 1972 (from 20; previous reductions were 24 to 21 in 1944 and 21 to 20 in 1968/1969)[97][98]
- Sweden: 1972 (from 20) [99]
- 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: 5 July 1974 (Act No. 74-631)[100]
- New Zealand: November 1974 (from 20; previous reduction from 21 to 20 in 1969)[101][102]
- Dominica: 1974[103]
- Italy: 1975 (voting age to elect the Senate remained at 25)
- Trinidad and Tobago: 1976
- Denmark: 19 September 1978 (from 20; 53.8% in referendum; previous reductions were 25 to 23 in 1953, 23 to 21 in 1961 and 21 to 20 in 1971)[104]
- Spain: 29 December 1978 (1978 Constitution)[105]
- Peru: 1979 Constitution
- Belgium: 1981[106]
- India: 28 March 1989 (61st Constitution Amendment Act, 1988 read with Act 21 of 1989)[107]
- Switzerland: 1991 (from 20; referendum held on 3 March)[108]
- Austria: 1992 (from 19; previous reductions were 21 to 20 in 1949 and 20 to 19 in 1970)[109]
- Estonia: 29 July 1992 (from 22, according to the 1938 Constitution; was 18 during the Soviet Occupation since 1940 and 16 for the Congress of Estonia in 1990)[110][111]
- Hong Kong: 1995 (from 21)[112]
- Liechtenstein: 2000 (from 20; LGBl. 2000 No. 55)[113]
- Jordan: July 2001 (from 19; Provisional Election Law No. 34/2001)[114]
- Pakistan: 21 August 2002 (Legal Framework Order, 2002),[115][116] was 18 under 1973 Constitution, then increased to 21, then lowered back to 18.[117]
- Morocco: 11 December 2002 (from 20)[118]
- Uzbekistan: July 2012 (from 25)
- Saudi Arabia: April 2015 (from 21)[119]
