Costa Rica vs Japan: Liberal democracy
Costa Rica
3
in 2025
Japan
3
in 2025
Costa Rica rank
1st
Japan rank
1st
Liberal democracy over time
- Costa Rica
- Japan
How they compare
Costa Rica currently reports 3 against 3 in Japan, a difference of 0.
The two have swapped places 12 times across 188 shared years of data; in 1838 it was Japan ahead.
Costa Rica ranks 1st and Japan ranks 1st of 176 countries.
Across the 20 decades both report, Costa Rica averaged higher in 7 and Japan in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Costa Rica | Japan | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1830s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1840s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1850s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1860s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1870s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1880s | 0.1 | 0 | 0.1 | Costa Rica |
| 1890s | 0.1 | 0 | 0.1 | Costa Rica |
| 1900s | 1 | 0 | 1 | Costa Rica |
| 1910s | 0.8 | 0 | 0.8 | Costa Rica |
| 1920s | 1 | 0 | 1 | Costa Rica |
| 1930s | 1 | 0 | 1 | Costa Rica |
| 1940s | 0.8 | 0.1 | 0.7 | Costa Rica |
| 1950s | 2 | 2.4 | 0.4 | Japan |
| 1960s | 2 | 3 | 1 | Japan |
| 1970s | 2 | 3 | 1 | Japan |
| 1980s | 2.1 | 3 | 0.9 | Japan |
| 1990s | 3 | 3 | 0 | — |
| 2000s | 3 | 3 | 0 | — |
| 2010s | 3 | 3 | 0 | — |
| 2020s | 3 | 3 | 0 | — |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher liberal democracy, Costa Rica or Japan?
- Costa Rica, at 3 against 3 in Japan as of 2025.
- What is the difference in liberal democracy between Costa Rica and Japan?
- 0, with Costa Rica ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and Japan?
- 188 years are reported by both, from 1838 to 2025.
- How do Costa Rica and Japan rank globally for liberal democracy?
- Costa Rica ranks 1st and Japan ranks 1st of 176 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Liberal democracy. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Identifies the political regime of a country by distinguishing between closed autocracies, electoral autocracies, electoral democracies, and liberal democracies.