{"id":418081,"date":"2026-09-14T08:55:07","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T12:55:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?post_type=short-read&p=418081"},"modified":"2026-09-14T08:55:07","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T12:55:07","slug":"the-us-constitution-is-among-the-hardest-in-the-world-to-amend","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2026\/09\/14\/the-us-constitution-is-among-the-hardest-in-the-world-to-amend\/","title":{"rendered":"The U.S. Constitution is among the hardest in the world to amend"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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An eighth grader at Meridian Academy in Boston holds her humanities class project using the preamble to the Constitution. (Barry Chin\/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
About this research<\/summary>\n

Ahead of Constitution Day on Sept. 17, this analysis looks at the hardest and easiest national constitutions to amend. It\u2019s an excerpt from a broader July 2026 analysis about ways that American democracy stands out internationally. For more information on why and how we did this, visit the larger analysis<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

Note: Ahead of Constitution Day on Sept. 17, this analysis looks at the hardest and easiest national constitutions to amend. It\u2019s an excerpt from a broader July 2026 analysis about<\/em> the ways that American democracy stands out internationally<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Pew Research Center surveys, Americans overwhelmingly favor several proposed changes to the U.S. political system<\/a>, from term and age limits for government officials to campaign finance limitations<\/a>. But many of those changes would require amending the Constitution, which is extremely difficult. The Constitution has been in effect for 237 years but has been formally amended just 27 times.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Hardest and easiest national constitutions to amend<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
Difficulty score based on easiest pathway, as specified in constitution<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n
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Note: When a constitution specifies more than one amendment process, the \u201cdifficulty of amendment\u201d scores represent the least difficult<\/em> process. Data is based on the 106 countries we classify as democracies and includes some fully self-governing territories whose sovereign status is disputed.<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
Source: Pew Research Center analysis using scoring system based on \u201cToward a Theory of Constitutional Amendment\u201d by Donald S. Lutz (American Political Science Review, June 1994).<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
PEW RESEARCH CENTER<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t
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