Which has higher varieties of democracy, Germany or Japan?

Germany, at 0.828 against 0.819 in Japan as of 2025.

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

191 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 Varieties of democracy. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Germany vs Japan: Varieties of democracy

Germany

0.828

in 2025

Japan

0.819

in 2025

Germany rank

21st

Japan rank

24th

Varieties of democracy over time

Germany
Japan

How they compare

Germany currently reports 0.828 against 0.819 in Japan, a difference of 0.009.

The two have swapped places 4 times across 191 shared years of data; in 1789 it was Germany ahead.

Germany ranks 21st and Japan ranks 24th of 176 countries.

Across the 21 decades both report, Germany averaged higher in 18 and Japan in 3.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Germany	Japan	Difference	Ahead
1780s	0.026	0.025	0.001	Germany
1790s	0.026	0.027	0.001	Japan
1800s	0.026	0.027	0.001	Japan
1810s	0.028	0.027	0.001	Germany
1820s	0.03	0.027	0.003	Germany
1830s	0.03	0.027	0.003	Germany
1840s	0.0572	0.027	0.0302	Germany
1850s	0.157	0.029	0.128	Germany
1860s	0.1894	0.0315	0.1579	Germany
1870s	0.2287	0.083	0.1457	Germany
1880s	0.2315	0.083	0.1485	Germany
1890s	0.2385	0.155	0.0835	Germany
1900s	0.2491	0.173	0.0761	Germany
1910s	0.2812	0.177	0.1042	Germany
1920s	0.6222	0.1964	0.4258	Germany
1930s	0.2421	0.1909	0.0512	Germany
1940s	0.0714	0.1418	0.0704	Japan
1990s	0.8938	0.8371	0.0567	Germany
2000s	0.899	0.8429	0.0561	Germany
2010s	0.8893	0.8299	0.0594	Germany
2020s	0.8493	0.8242	0.0252	Germany

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher varieties of democracy, Germany or Japan?: Germany, at 0.828 against 0.819 in Japan as of 2025.
What is the difference in varieties of democracy between Germany and Japan?: 0.009, with Germany ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Germany and Japan?: 191 years are reported by both, from 1789 to 2025.
How do Germany and Japan rank globally for varieties of democracy?: Germany ranks 21st and Japan ranks 24th of 176 countries.
Where does this data come from?: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Varieties of democracy. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator: Varieties of democracy
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.