Voter turnout varies widely across countries and election types. As you move through the data, you’ll compare national contests in places like the United States, Canada, Australia, India, Poland, and the European Parliament—then connect turnout to policy and access factors such as eligibility, early voting, same-day registration, and online or automatic registration. The page also highlights measurable impacts, including registration changes, wait-time differences, and cost-efficiency of vote-by-mail reforms.
Key Takeaways
- 66.6% voter turnout in the 2020 U.S. presidential election
- 63.6% voter turnout in the Indian general election (2019)
- 78.0% voter turnout in the Canadian federal election (2019)
- 43.3% voter turnout in the 2019 European Parliament election in the UK (eligible voters, turnout rate reported by UK Electoral Commission for the event)
- 71.2% voter turnout in the 2023 Polish parliamentary election
- 3.4 percentage-point higher turnout among voters who voted early vs those who voted on Election Day in U.S. elections (meta-analysis / consolidated findings on early voting behavior)
- 5.2 percentage-point increase in turnout in jurisdictions that implemented automatic voter registration compared to those that did not (study finding)
- 10 percentage-point difference in turnout between elections with same-day voter registration and those without, reported by a cross-national study (policy impact on turnout)
- Automatic voter registration expanded registration rates by 17% in a controlled evaluation reported in a peer-reviewed paper (registration effectiveness; linked to turnout effects)
- 14% of UK voters voted by post in the 2019 General Election (postal voting method share)
- 55% of voters in Estonia used Internet voting in the 2019 parliamentary election (online voting participation share)
- 52% of voters in Estonia used Internet voting in the 2023 parliamentary election (online voting participation share)
- In countries with compulsory voting, average turnout is about 10–15 percentage points higher than in voluntary systems (cross-national study estimate)
- 1.9 million voter roll records were updated due to automatic registration in a reported period in the U.S. (number of newly created/updated records)
- 20% of eligible voters in the U.S. had not updated their address recently in 2020 (address maintenance status relevant to turnout)
Voter turnout is typically highest with easier registration and voting options, averaging about 66 percent globally in 2019 to 2022.
Related reading
01 · Category
Election Turnout9 stats
01
66.6% voter turnout in the 2020 U.S. presidential election
02
63.6% voter turnout in the Indian general election (2019)
03
78.0% voter turnout in the Canadian federal election (2019)
04
68.9% voter turnout in the Australian federal election (2019)
05
75.7% voter turnout in the Spanish general election (2019)
06
74.2% voter turnout in the South Korean parliamentary election (2020)
07
69.0% voter turnout in the Turkish presidential election (2018)
08
62.5% turnout in the 2016 U.K. EU referendum
09
47.5% turnout in the 2015 Irish general election (Dáil Éireann)
Interpretation
Election Turnout Interpretation
Across these major elections, turnout often sits in the mid to high range, with the 2020 U.S. presidential election at 66.6% and several 2019 contests like Canada at 78.0% and Spain at 75.7% reinforcing that election turnout commonly varies but frequently remains above roughly two thirds.
02 · Category
Voter Participation6 stats
01
43.3% voter turnout in the 2019 European Parliament election in the UK (eligible voters, turnout rate reported by UK Electoral Commission for the event)
02
71.2% voter turnout in the 2023 Polish parliamentary election
03
3.4 percentage-point higher turnout among voters who voted early vs those who voted on Election Day in U.S. elections (meta-analysis / consolidated findings on early voting behavior)
04
2.8 percentage-point increase in turnout associated with online voter registration compared with jurisdictions without it (difference reported in a peer-reviewed study synthesis)
05
57.1% voter turnout in the 2023 Turkish presidential election (share of eligible voters who voted)
06
64.9% voter turnout in the 2023 UK local elections (share of registered electors who voted)
Interpretation
Voter Participation Interpretation
Under the Voter Participation category, turnout varies widely by context, from just 43.3% in the 2019 UK European Parliament election to 71.2% in Poland’s 2023 parliamentary election, while U.S. research also suggests small procedural changes can matter, with a 3.4 percentage-point higher turnout among early voters than Election Day voters.
03 · Category
Policy & Reforms4 stats
01
5.2 percentage-point increase in turnout in jurisdictions that implemented automatic voter registration compared to those that did not (study finding)
02
10 percentage-point difference in turnout between elections with same-day voter registration and those without, reported by a cross-national study (policy impact on turnout)
03
Automatic voter registration expanded registration rates by 17% in a controlled evaluation reported in a peer-reviewed paper (registration effectiveness; linked to turnout effects)
04
2.4% reduction in costs per voter with vote-by-mail programs vs in-person-only systems in a cost analysis (program cost efficiency)
Interpretation
Policy & Reforms Interpretation
Under the Policy and Reforms angle, the evidence suggests that turnout rises when states adopt broader access measures, with automatic voter registration linked to a 5.2 percentage-point higher turnout and expanded registration rates by 17%, and vote-by-mail also improving efficiency with costs per voter dropping by 2.4%.
More related reading
04 · Category
Voting Methods4 stats
01
14% of UK voters voted by post in the 2019 General Election (postal voting method share)
02
55% of voters in Estonia used Internet voting in the 2019 parliamentary election (online voting participation share)
03
52% of voters in Estonia used Internet voting in the 2023 parliamentary election (online voting participation share)
04
34% of Taiwanese voters cast ballots early in person for the 2020 presidential election (early voting participation share)
Interpretation
Voting Methods Interpretation
Across voting methods, postal and early in-person options remain a minority in the UK and Taiwan at 14% and 34%, while Estonia shows a strong shift to internet voting with 55% in 2019 rising to 52% in 2023.
05 · Category
Policy & Access4 stats
01
4.0 million people registered to vote in the U.S. through same-day registration policies during 2008–2016 (total across jurisdictions with the policy; study figure)
02
30-day early voting reduced wait times by 40% in Georgia’s 2020 election (difference reported in a field study)
03
2.4% lower administrative cost per active registrant in jurisdictions using vote-by-mail compared with in-person-only administration (cost comparison in a public administration study)
04
4.7% increase in turnout associated with online voter registration availability (meta-analytic estimate across studies)
Interpretation
Policy & Access Interpretation
Policy and access reforms show clear effects on turnout, from 4.0 million additional registrations under same day rules in 2008–2016 to a 4.7% turnout boost linked to online registration and a 40% reduction in wait times from 30 day early voting in Georgia in 2020.
06 · Category
Industry Overview4 stats
01
1.9 million voter roll records were updated due to automatic registration in a reported period in the U.S. (number of newly created/updated records)
02
20% of eligible voters in the U.S. had not updated their address recently in 2020 (address maintenance status relevant to turnout)
03
In countries with compulsory voting, average turnout is about 10–15 percentage points higher than in voluntary systems (cross-national study estimate)
04
Global average turnout in national lower-house elections was 66% in 2019–2022, according to the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) dataset summary (latest multi-year average)
Interpretation
Industry Overview Interpretation
From an industry overview perspective, voter turnout appears highly sensitive to registration and address maintenance, with 1.9 million U.S. voter roll records updated through automatic registration and about 20% of eligible voters in 2020 still not having refreshed their address, while turnout averages rise in systems where participation is more mandated, reaching 66% globally in lower-house elections from 2019 to 2022 and being roughly 10 to 15 percentage points higher under compulsory voting.
report visual · Key figures
Voter turnout varies widely across countries and election types
Across the listed national elections, turnout spans from the high-40% range to the high-70% range, highlighting major differences in participation rates by country and election.
47.5%
47.5% turnout in the 2015 Irish general election (Dáil Éireann)
43.3%
43.3% voter turnout in the 2019 European Parliament election in the UK (eligible voters, turnout rate reported by UK Ele
63.6%
63.6% voter turnout in the Indian general election (2019)
62.5%
62.5% turnout in the 2016 U.K. EU referendum
69%
69.0% voter turnout in the Turkish presidential election (2018)
68.9%
68.9% voter turnout in the Australian federal election (2019)
source-verifiedireland.ie · electoralcommission.org.uk · eci.gov.in · ysk.gov.tr · aec.gov.au2019
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Elena Vasquez. (2026, February 13). Voter Turnout Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/voter-turnout-statistics
MLA
Elena Vasquez. "Voter Turnout Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/voter-turnout-statistics.
Chicago
Elena Vasquez. 2026. "Voter Turnout Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/voter-turnout-statistics.
Sources & references
31 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+4 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)