Japan vs Korea: Key features of liberal democracy
Japan
0.734
in 2025
Korea
0.739
in 2025
Japan rank
24th
Korea rank
22nd
Key features of liberal democracy over time
- Japan
- Korea
How they compare
Korea currently reports 0.739 against 0.734 in Japan, a difference of 0.005.
The two have swapped places 7 times across 237 shared years of data; in 1789 it was Japan ahead.
Japan ranks 24th and Korea ranks 22nd of 176 countries.
Japan has averaged higher in every one of the 25 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Japan | Korea | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1780s | 0.019 | 0.016 | 0.003 | Japan |
| 1790s | 0.016 | 0.016 | 0 | — |
| 1800s | 0.016 | 0.0151 | 0.0009 | Japan |
| 1810s | 0.016 | 0.015 | 0.001 | Japan |
| 1820s | 0.016 | 0.015 | 0.001 | Japan |
| 1830s | 0.016 | 0.015 | 0.001 | Japan |
| 1840s | 0.016 | 0.0149 | 0.0011 | Japan |
| 1850s | 0.0178 | 0.014 | 0.0038 | Japan |
| 1860s | 0.0211 | 0.0152 | 0.0059 | Japan |
| 1870s | 0.0937 | 0.0154 | 0.0783 | Japan |
| 1880s | 0.1092 | 0.0163 | 0.0929 | Japan |
| 1890s | 0.1796 | 0.0243 | 0.1553 | Japan |
| 1900s | 0.1965 | 0.0325 | 0.164 | Japan |
| 1910s | 0.2015 | 0.021 | 0.1805 | Japan |
| 1920s | 0.21 | 0.021 | 0.189 | Japan |
| 1930s | 0.2044 | 0.0207 | 0.1837 | Japan |
| 1940s | 0.2457 | 0.05 | 0.1957 | Japan |
| 1950s | 0.637 | 0.1455 | 0.4915 | Japan |
| 1960s | 0.7499 | 0.1367 | 0.6132 | Japan |
| 1970s | 0.7505 | 0.1065 | 0.644 | Japan |
| 1980s | 0.7521 | 0.2043 | 0.5478 | Japan |
| 1990s | 0.7567 | 0.6064 | 0.1503 | Japan |
| 2000s | 0.7674 | 0.7399 | 0.0275 | Japan |
| 2010s | 0.7542 | 0.6778 | 0.0764 | Japan |
| 2020s | 0.7387 | 0.7102 | 0.0285 | Japan |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher key features of liberal democracy, Japan or Korea?
- Korea, at 0.739 against 0.734 in Japan as of 2025.
- What is the difference in key features of liberal democracy between Japan and Korea?
- 0.005, with Korea ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Japan and Korea?
- 237 years are reported by both, from 1789 to 2025.
- How do Japan and Korea rank globally for key features of liberal democracy?
- Japan ranks 24th and Korea ranks 22nd of 176 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Our World in Data, published as Key features of liberal democracy. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.