The Americas have produced 32% of the world’s constitutional systems since 1789. The first constitution in the region was that of the United States in 1789, followed by that of Haiti in 1801. The average constitution over this period has endured 14.4 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No longer in force
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This region includes the following countries
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Argentina
- Bahamas (The)
- Barbados
- Belize
- Bolivia (Plurinational State of)
- Brazil
- Canada
- Chile
- Colombia
- Costa Rica
- Cuba
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- El Salvador
- Grenada
- Guatemala
- Guyana
- Haiti
- Honduras
- Jamaica
- Mexico
- Nicaragua
- Panama
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Suriname
- Trinidad and Tobago
- United States of America
- Uruguay
- Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)
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.