Iceland vs Japan: Full democracy
Iceland
1
in 2025
Japan
1
in 2025
Iceland rank
1st
Japan rank
1st
Full democracy over time
- Iceland
- Japan
How they compare
Iceland currently reports 1 against 1 in Japan, a difference of 0.
The two have swapped places 4 times across 182 shared years of data; in 1844 it was Japan ahead.
Iceland ranks 1st and Japan ranks 1st of 197 countries.
Iceland has averaged higher in every one of the 19 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Iceland | Japan | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1840s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1850s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1860s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1870s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1880s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1890s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1900s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1910s | 0.1 | 0 | 0.1 | Iceland |
| 1920s | 1 | 0 | 1 | Iceland |
| 1930s | 1 | 0 | 1 | Iceland |
| 1940s | 0.4 | 0 | 0.4 | Iceland |
| 1950s | 1 | 0.6 | 0.4 | Iceland |
| 1960s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 1970s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 1980s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 1990s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 2000s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 2010s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 2020s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher full democracy, Iceland or Japan?
- Iceland, at 1 against 1 in Japan as of 2025.
- What is the difference in full democracy between Iceland and Japan?
- 0, with Iceland ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Iceland and Japan?
- 182 years are reported by both, from 1844 to 2025.
- How do Iceland and Japan rank globally for full democracy?
- Iceland ranks 1st and Japan ranks 1st of 197 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Full democracy. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Identifies if a country is a full democracy using the extended Lexical Index of Electoral Democracy (LIED+).