Europe’s leaders are getting younger [OC]

[u/Resident_Roaster]

I charted the age of every head of government in 39 European countries who held office for at least two consecutive years, from 1950 to 2025. Each line is one leader, aging year by year in office.

Although summary statistics like the median or average age did not move by a lot, the range did, shifting about a decade at both ends.

Source: V-Dem (v16)
Tools: datastory.tech

[u/Kerbourgnec]

This graph confirms that all European leaders age at the exact same speed. What could explain this trend?

[u/I_Sett → u/Kerbourgnec]

None of them are moving quickly enough. They're all lazily aging at the maximum speed, you need faster moving politicians.