Which has higher electoral democracy index, Japan or Spain?

Spain, at 0.822 against 0.819 in Japan as of 2025.

How many years of comparable data are there for Japan and Spain?

237 years are reported by both, from 1789 to 2025.

Where does this data come from?

V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Electoral Democracy Index. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Japan vs Spain: Electoral Democracy Index

Japan

0.819

in 2025

Spain

0.822

in 2025

Japan rank

24th

Spain rank

22nd

Electoral Democracy Index over time

Japan
Spain

How they compare

Spain currently reports 0.822 against 0.819 in Japan, a difference of 0.003.

The two have swapped places 5 times across 237 shared years of data; in 1789 it was Japan ahead.

Japan ranks 24th and Spain ranks 22nd of 176 countries.

Across the 25 decades both report, Japan averaged higher in 7 and Spain in 18.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Japan	Spain	Difference	Ahead
1780s	0.025	0.019	0.006	Japan
1790s	0.027	0.019	0.008	Japan
1800s	0.027	0.0278	0.0008	Spain
1810s	0.027	0.0603	0.0333	Spain
1820s	0.027	0.0912	0.0642	Spain
1830s	0.027	0.0898	0.0628	Spain
1840s	0.027	0.1313	0.1043	Spain
1850s	0.029	0.128	0.099	Spain
1860s	0.0315	0.145	0.1135	Spain
1870s	0.083	0.2047	0.1217	Spain
1880s	0.083	0.1557	0.0727	Spain
1890s	0.155	0.1823	0.0273	Spain
1900s	0.173	0.1827	0.0097	Spain
1910s	0.177	0.1794	0.0024	Spain
1920s	0.1964	0.0994	0.097	Japan
1930s	0.1909	0.3925	0.2016	Spain
1940s	0.2313	0.0691	0.1622	Japan
1950s	0.7018	0.0691	0.6327	Japan
1960s	0.8305	0.0797	0.7508	Japan
1970s	0.8352	0.2838	0.5514	Japan
1980s	0.8355	0.8845	0.049	Spain
1990s	0.8369	0.8927	0.0558	Spain
2000s	0.8429	0.8837	0.0408	Spain
2010s	0.8299	0.868	0.0381	Spain
2020s	0.8242	0.8475	0.0233	Spain

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher electoral democracy index, Japan or Spain?: Spain, at 0.822 against 0.819 in Japan as of 2025.
What is the difference in electoral democracy index between Japan and Spain?: 0.003, with Spain ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Japan and Spain?: 237 years are reported by both, from 1789 to 2025.
How do Japan and Spain rank globally for electoral democracy index?: Japan ranks 24th and Spain ranks 22nd of 176 countries.
Where does this data come from?: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Electoral Democracy Index. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator: Electoral Democracy Index
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 176 places, 29,649 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

Central estimate of the extent to which political leaders are elected under comprehensive suffrage in free and fair elections, and freedoms of association and expression are guaranteed.