Countries Africa

Africa has produced 25% of the world’s constitutional systems since 1789. The first constitution in the region was that of Liberia in 1825, but most followed decolonization in the 1950s and 1960s. The average constitution over this entire period has endured 12.2 years. 

Browse the timeline below, which is built from the Comparative Constitution Project’s chronology of constitutional events data, or explore the individual countries further to learn more.

Timeline of Constitutions

Data from the Comparative Constitutions Project.

Key to constitutions

New
Amendments
PDF Link
Suspended
Interim
No longer in force

Notes

For analysis of constitutional lifespans see: Elkins, Zachary, Tom Ginsburg, and James Melton. The Endurance of National Constitutions. Cambridge University Press, 2009.

Thanks to Jonathan Corum, who designed the original version of the timeline graphic.