List of political term limits

This is a list of term limits for heads of state, heads of government and other notable public office holders by country.

Africa

Country	Head of state/government		Other
	Title	Maximum number of terms	Office	Maximum number of terms
Algeria	President	Two 5-year terms term, since 2016 Constitutional Reform.
Angola	President	Two 5-year terms, since 2010 Constitutional Reform.
Benin	President	Two 5-year terms
Botswana	President	Two 5-year terms	Vice President	Two 5-year terms
Burkina Faso	President	Two 5-year terms
Burundi	President	Two 5-year terms, since 2005 Constitutional Referendum.
Chad	President	Unlimited 5-year terms, since 2005 Constitutional Referendum.
Cameroon	President	Unlimited 7-year terms, from 2008 Constitutional Reform.
Cape Verde	President	Two 5-year terms, additional is term allowed after 5 years.	Prime Minister	No terms limit
Central African Republic	President	Two 5-year terms, since 2015 Constitutional Reform.
Comoros	President	Unlimited non-consecutive 5-year terms, since 2009 Constitutional Referendum.
Côte d’Ivoire	President	Two 5-year terms, since 2000 Constitutional Referendum.
Democratic Republic of the Congo	President	Two 5-year terms, since 2005 Constitutional Referendum.
Republic of the Congo	President	Three 5-year terms, from 2015 Constitutional Referendum.
Egypt	President	Two 4-year terms, starting from the 2012 presidential election
Equatorial Guinea	President	Two 7-year terms, starting from 2011 Constitutional Referendum.
Ethiopia	President	Two 6-year terms	Prime Minister	No term limits
Gabon	President	Unlimited 7-year terms, since 1991 Constitutional Reform.
Ghana	President	Two 4-year terms, since 1992 Constitutional Referendum.	Vice President	Two 4-year terms
Kenya	President	Two 5-year terms, since 1991 Constitutional Reform.
Liberia	President	Two 6-year terms, since 1986 Constitutional Referendum.
Madagascar	President	Two 5-year terms, since 1992 Constitutional Referendum.
Malawi	President	Two 5-year terms, since 1995 Constitutional Referendum.
Mali	President	Two 5-year terms, since 1992 Constitutional Referendum.
Mauritania	President	Two 5-year terms, since 1991 Constitutional Referendum
Mauritius	President	Unlimited 5-year terms, since 1991 Constitutional Referendum.
Mozambique	President	Two 5-year terms, since 2004 Constitutional Reform.
Namibia	President	Two 5-year terms, since 1990 Constitutional Reform.
Niger	President	Two 5-year terms, since 1999 Constitutional Referendum.
Nigeria	President	Two 4-year terms, since 1999 Constitutional Reform.
Rwanda	President	Two 5-year terms, since 2015 Constitutional Reform (from 2024).
São Tomé and Príncipe	President	Two 5-year terms	Prime Minister	No term limits
Senegal	President	Two 5-year terms, since 2016 Constitutional Reform.
Seychelles	President	Three 5-year terms, since 2010 Constitutional Reform.
Sierra Leone	President	Two 5-year terms, since 1991 Constitutional Referendum.
South Africa	President	Two 5-year terms, since 1996 Constitutional Referendum.
South Sudan	President	No term limits[1]
Tanzania	President	Two 5-year terms, since 1977 Constitutional Reform.	Vice President	Two 5-year terms
Togo	President	Unlimited 5-year terms, since 2002 Constitutional Reform.
Tunisia	President	Two 5-year terms, since 2014 Constitutional Referendum.
Uganda	President	Unlimited 5-year terms, since 2005 Constitutional Referendum.	Vice President	No term limits
Zambia	President	Two 5-year terms, since 2006 Constitutional Reform.
Zimbabwe	President	Two 5-year terms, since 2013 Constitutional Referendum.

Asia

Country	Head of state/government		Other
	Title	Maximum number of terms	Office	Maximum number of terms
Afghanistan	President	Two 5-year terms
Bangladesh	President	Two 5-year terms
Cambodia	Prime Minister	No term limits
Vietnam	President (Head of state)	Three 5-year terms	Prime Minister (Head of government)	Two 5-year terms
China	President	Two 5-year terms[2] (Two terms of National People's Congress session)	Vice President	Two 5-year terms[2] (Two terms of National People's Congress session)
Hong Kong	Chief Executive	Two 5-year terms
India	President	Unlimited 5-year terms	Prime Minister	No directly set terms, however they must maintain the support of the Indian Parliament which has a term of five years
Indonesia	President	Two 5-year terms	Vice President	Two 5-year terms
Iran	President	Two consecutive and one non-consecutive 4-year terms
Iraq	President	Two 4-year terms
Israel	President	One 7-year term	Prime Minister	No term limits
Japan	Prime Minister	No term limits
Kazakhstan	President	Two consecutive 5-year terms (Exception for first President)
Kyrgyzstan	President	One 6-year term
Lebanon	President	Unlimited non-consecutive 6-year terms
Macau	Chief Executive	Two 5-year terms
Malaysia	Yang di-Pertuan Agong	Unlimited 5-Year Terms, but because the 9 Sultans of the Malayan provinces rotate each time between themselves, the unlimited 5-Year Terms are de facto unlimited non-consecutive 5-year terms.	Prime Minister	No term limits
Maldives	President	Two 5-year terms (starting 1998)
Mongolia	President	Two 5-year terms
Pakistan	President	Two 5-year terms
Philippines	President	One 6-year term	Vice President	Two 6-year terms
			Senators	Three 6-year terms
			Representatives of the House	Three 3-year terms
			All other local government officials	Three 3-year terms
South Korea	President	One 5-year term
Singapore	Prime Minister	No term limits
Sri Lanka	President	Two 5-year terms since 2015	Prime Minister	Unlimited 5-year terms since 2015
Taiwan	President	Two consecutive 4-year terms since 1994[3][4]	Vice President	Same as the president
			Members of the Legislative Yuan	Unlimited 4-year terms[5]
			County, city and township councilors, and village chiefs	Unlimited 4-year terms[6]
			County magistrates, and city and township mayors	Two consecutive 4-year terms[7]
Tajikistan	President	Three 7-year terms
Thailand	Prime Minister	Two 4-year terms
Timor-Leste	President	Two 5-year terms
Uzbekistan	President	Two 7-year terms

Europe

Country	Head of state		Head of government (if effectively supreme to a separate head of state)		Other
	Title	Maximum number of terms	Title	Maximum number of terms	Office	Maximum number of terms
Albania	President	Two 5-year terms	Prime Minister	No directly set terms, however they must maintain the support of the Albanian Parliament which has a term of four years
Armenia	President	Two 5-year terms
Austria	President	Two 6-year terms. When the current President loses their re-election, they can never again be elected to the Office of Federal President of Austria.	Chancellor	No directly set terms, however they must maintain the support of the National Council which has a term of four years
Azerbaijan	President	Unlimited non-consecutive 5-year terms
Belarus	President	No term limits
Belgium	Monarch	No set terms (Hereditary succession)	Prime Minister	No directly set terms, however they must maintain the support of the Chamber of Representatives which has a term of four years
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Presidency members	Two consecutive 4-year terms
Bulgaria	President	Two consecutive 5-year terms	Prime Minister	No directly set terms, however they must maintain the support of the National Assembly which has a term of four years	Vice President	Two 5-year terms
Croatia	President	Two 5-year terms	Prime Minister	No directly set terms, however they must maintain the support of the Sabor which has a term of five years
Cyprus	President	Two 5-year terms
Czech Republic	President	Two 5-year terms	Prime Minister	No directly set terms, however they must maintain the support of the Chamber of Deputies which has a term of four years
Denmark	Monarch	No set terms (Hereditary succession)	Prime Minister	No directly set terms, however they must maintain the support of the Folketing which has a term of four years
Estonia	President	Two 5-year terms	Prime Minister	No directly set terms, however they must maintain the support of the Riigikogu which has a term of four years
European Union	President of the European Council	Two two-and-a-half year terms	President of the European Commission	No directly set terms, however they must maintain the support of the European Parliament which has a term of five years (and also the European Council)	President of the European Central Bank	One 8-year term
Finland	President	Two 6-year terms	Prime Minister	No directly set terms, however they must maintain the support of the Finnish Parliament which has a term of four years
France	President	Two consecutive 5-year terms[8]			Prime minister	No directly defined terms, however they must maintain the support of the National Assembly which has a term of five years
Georgia	President	Two 5-year terms
Germany	President	Two 5-year terms	Chancellor	No directly set terms, however they must maintain the support of the Bundestag which has a term of four years
Greece	President	Two 5-year terms	Prime Minister	No directly set terms, however they must maintain the support of the Hellenic Parliament which has a term of four years
Hungary	President	Two 5-year terms	Prime Minister	No directly set terms, however they must maintain the support of the National Assembly which has a term of five years
Iceland	President	Unlimited 4-year terms	Prime Minister	No directly set terms, however they must maintain the support of the Althing which has a term of four years
Ireland	President	Two 7-year terms	Taoiseach (equivalent of Prime Minister)	No directly set terms, however they must maintain the support of the Dáil which has a term of five years
Italy	President	Unlimited 7-year terms	Prime Minister	No directly set terms, however they must maintain the support of the Chamber of Deputies which has a term of five years		Unlimited 5-year terms
Latvia	President	Two 4-year terms	Prime Minister	No directly set terms, however they must maintain the support of the Saeima which has a term of four years
Lithuania	President	Two 5-year terms	Prime Minister	No directly set terms, however they must maintain the support of the Seimas which has a term of four years
Luxemburg	Monarch	No set terms (Hereditary succession)	Prime Minister	No directly set terms, however they must maintain the support of the Chamber of Deputies which has a term of four years
Macedonia	President	Two 5-year terms	Prime Minister	No directly set terms, however they must maintain the support of the Assembly of Macedonia which has a term of four years
Malta	President	Two 5-year terms	Prime Minister	No directly set terms, however they must maintain the support of the Maltese Parliament which has a term of five years
Moldova	President	Two 4-year terms	Prime Minister	No directly set terms, however they must maintain the support of the Moldovan Parliament which has a term of four years
Montenegro	President	Two 5-year terms	Prime Minister	No directly set terms, however they must maintain the support of the Montenegrin Parliament which has a term of four years
Netherlands	Monarch	No set terms (Hereditary succession)	Prime Minister	No directly set terms, however they must maintain the support of the House of Representatives which has a term of less than five years
Norway	Monarch	No set terms (Hereditary succession)	Prime Minister	No directly set terms, however they must maintain the support of the Storting which has a term of four years
Poland	President	Two 5-year terms	Prime Minister	No directly set terms, however they must maintain the support of the Sejm which has a term of four years
Portugal	President	Two consecutive 5-year terms. A former President of Portugal, however, if they have already served two consecutive terms, can also be re-elected to another unlimited non-consecutive 5-year term, after a minimum of five years out of office since the end of their last term in office.			Presidents of local authorities (concelho and freguesia)	Three consecutive 4-year terms
					Prime Minister	No directly set terms, however they must maintain the support of the Assembly of the Republic which has a term of less than five years
Romania	President	Two 5-year terms			Prime Minister	No directly set terms, however they must maintain the support of the Chamber of Deputies which has a term of less than four years
Russia	President	Unlimited Two consecutive 6-year terms.			Prime Minister	No directly set terms, however they must maintain the support of the State Duma which has a term of five years
San Marino	Captain-Regent	Unlimited non-consecutive 6-month terms, but an outgoing Captain Regent of San Marino must wait for a minimum of three years, until they can be elected again into this office.
Serbia	President	Unlimited 5-year terms	Prime Minister	No directly set terms, however they must maintain the support of the National Assembly which has a term of four years
Slovakia	President	Two 5-year terms	Prime Minister	No directly set terms, however they must maintain the support of the National Council which has a term of four years
Slovenia	President	Two 5-year terms	Prime Minister	No directly set terms, however they must maintain the support of the National Assembly which has a term of four years
Spain	Monarch	No set terms (Hereditary succession)	Prime Minister	No directly set terms, however they must maintain the support of the Congress of Deputies which has a term of four years
Sweden	Monarch	No set terms (Hereditary succession)	Prime Minister	No directly set terms, however they must maintain the support of the Riksdag which has a term of four years
Switzerland	Federal Council	Unlimited 4-year terms			President of the Confederation	Unlimited non-consecutive 1-year terms
Turkey	President	Two 5-year terms[9]	Prime Minister	No directly set terms, however they must maintain the support of the Grand National Assembly which has a term of four years
United Kingdom	Monarch	No set terms (Hereditary succession)	Prime Minister	No directly set terms, however they must maintain the support of the House of Commons which has a term of five years	Lord Speaker	Two 5-year terms.[10]
Ukraine	President	Two consecutive 5-year terms			Prime Minister	No directly set terms, however they must maintain the support of the Verkhovna Rada which has a term of five years

Oceania

Country	Head of state/government		Other
	Title	Maximum number of terms	Office	Maximum number of terms
Australia	Governor-General	No term limits, but traditionally serve for one 5-year term or at the 'pleasure' of the Queen of Australia (the effective head of government, the Australian Prime Minister, does not have a term limit).
Federated States of Micronesia	President	Two 4-year terms	Vice President	Two 4-year terms
Fiji	President	Two 5-year terms	Vice President	Two 5-year terms
Kiribati	President	Three 4-year terms	Vice President	Three 4-year terms
Marshall Islands	President	Two 4-year terms
Nauru	President	Two 3-year terms
Palau	President	Two 4-year terms	Vice President	Two 4-year terms
Samoa	Chief of State	Two 5-year terms since 2007. Before 2007, the Chief of State of Samoa was elected for life.
Solomon Islands	Governor-General	Two 5-year terms
Vanuatu	President	One 5-year term

The Americas

Country	Head of state/government		Other
	Title	Maximum number of terms	Office	Maximum number of terms
Argentina	President	Two consecutive 4-year terms. Every former President, if they have already served two consecutive terms in a row, has to wait one complete 4-year term, until they can be re-elected into two consecutive 4-year terms as President of Argentina again.	Vice President	Two consecutive 4-year terms. Every former Vice President, if they have already served two consecutive terms in a row, has to wait one complete 4-year term, until they can be re-elected into two consecutive 4-year terms as Vice President of Argentina again.
Bolivia	President	Two 5-year terms	Vice President	Two 5-year terms
Brazil	President	Two consecutive 4-year terms. Every former President, if they have already served two consecutive terms in a row, has to wait one complete 4-year term, until they can be re-elected into two consecutive 4-year terms as President of Brazil again.	Vice President	Two consecutive 4-year terms. Every former Vice President, if they have already served two consecutive terms in a row, has to wait one complete 4-year term, until they can be re-elected into two consecutive 4-year terms as Vice President of Brazil again.
Canada	Governor-General	Unlimited 5-year term	Prime Minister	No term limits
Chile	President	Unlimited non-consecutive 4-year terms
Colombia	President	Two 4-year terms	Vice President	Two 4-year terms
Costa Rica	President	Unlimited non-consecutive 4-year terms
Cuba	President	Two 5-year terms
Dominican Republic	President	Two 4-year terms	Vice President	Two 4-year terms
Ecuador	President	Two 4-year terms	Vice President	Two 4-year terms
El Salvador	President	One 5-year term	Vice President	One 5-year term
Guatemala	President	One 4-year term	Vice President	Unlimited non-consecutive 4-year terms
Guyana	President	Two 5-year terms
Haiti	President	Two non-consecutive 5-year terms
Honduras	President	One 4-year term	Vice President	One 4-year term
Mexico	President	One 6-year term (sexenio)
Nicaragua	President	Unlimited 5-year terms [11]	Vice President	Unlimited 5-year terms
Panama	President	Two non-consecutive 5-year terms	Vice President	Two non-consecutive 5-year terms
Paraguay	President	One 5-year term	Vice President	One 5-year term
Peru	President	Unlimited non-consecutive 5-year terms
Trinidad and Tobago	President	Two 5-year terms
United States	President	Two 4-year terms (except after succeeding to the Presidency and serving for more than two years, in which case only one subsequent four-year term is permitted).
			Vice President	No term limits. Eligibility of former term limited presidents is unclear (see article on Twenty-Second Amendment).
			Senators and Representatives	No term limits
Uruguay	President	Unlimited non-consecutive 5-year terms	Vice President	Unlimited non-consecutive 5-year terms
Venezuela	President	Unlimited 6-year terms

See also

• Term limit
• Reelection

References

1. "South Sudan to adopt new constitution, claims Abyei". af.reuters.com. Retrieved 2015-08-31.
2. "Constitution of the People's Republic of China". English.people.com.cn.
3. Section 6 of Article 2 of the Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China
4. Two consecutive six-year terms from 1947 to 1994 under Article 47 of the Constitution of the Republic of China, but unlimited six-year terms from 1960 to 1991 as superseded by the Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of Communist Rebellion.
5. Article 4 of the Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China
6. Articles 33 and 59 of the Local Government Act
7. Articles 55, 56, and 57 of the Local Government Act
8. "France backs constitution reform". BBC NEWS. July 21, 2008.
9. "Turks back direct president poll". BBC NEWS. October 21, 2007.
10. "Lord Speaker". BBC NEWS. October 1, 2008.
11. "Nicaragua backs unlimited presidential terms". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 November 2014.

Sources

• CIA World Factbook