Ireland vs United States: Universal right to vote in practice
Ireland
2
in 2025
United States
2
in 2025
Ireland rank
1st
United States rank
1st
Universal right to vote in practice over time
- Ireland
- United States
How they compare
Ireland currently reports 2 against 2 in United States, a difference of 0.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 108 shared years of data; in 1918 it was United States ahead.
Ireland ranks 1st and United States ranks 1st of 197 countries.
Ireland has averaged higher in every one of the 12 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Ireland | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1920s | 1.8 | 0 | 1.8 | Ireland |
| 1930s | 2 | 0 | 2 | Ireland |
| 1940s | 2 | 0 | 2 | Ireland |
| 1950s | 2 | 0 | 2 | Ireland |
| 1960s | 2 | 1 | 1 | Ireland |
| 1970s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 1980s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 1990s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 2000s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 2010s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 2020s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher universal right to vote in practice, Ireland or United States?
- Ireland, at 2 against 2 in United States as of 2025.
- What is the difference in universal right to vote in practice between Ireland and United States?
- 0, with Ireland ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Ireland and United States?
- 108 years are reported by both, from 1918 to 2025.
- How do Ireland and United States rank globally for universal right to vote in practice?
- Ireland ranks 1st and United States ranks 1st of 197 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Universal right to vote in practice. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Indicates whether virtually all adult citizens have the right to vote in practice (score 2), only men have broad voting rights in practice (score 1), or there are no broad voting rights in practice (score 0).