The Spectator

Does any country allow children to vote? 

issue 24 February 2024

Baby voters

The Lib Dem Polly Mackenzie proposed giving people the right to vote from birth, with a proxy vote going to the under-tens. Does any country allow children to vote?

– No country has a voting age lower than 16, although Iran allowed 15-year-olds to vote until 2007. Those countries that do allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote are not all necessarily the most democratic.

16 Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador, Isle of Man, Jersey, Malta, Nicaragua, Scotland (not UK general elections), Wales (not UK general elections)

17 East Timor, Greece, North Korea  

Holiday homes

Which areas of England and Wales have the highest proportion of properties used as second homes/holiday lets? Figures expressed as number of people using holiday homes per 1,000 normal residents:

Gwynedd 79

Anglesey 63

North Norfolk 60

South Lakeland 58.4

Isle of Scilly 58.3

East Lindsey 54.4

South Hams 51.1

Scarborough 47.1

Pembrokeshire 45.2

Source: Office for National Statistics

Particle science

How were total emissions of common air pollutants in 2022 compared with 2012? Expressed as a percentage of the 2012 level:

Ammonia 99.

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