Citizen support for democracy in Japan
Japan: Citizen support for democracy was 0.2249 in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Citizen support for democracy in Japan, 1995–2020
Source: Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2020, citizen support for democracy in Japan stood at 0.2249.
That represents a change of up 1.2% on the previous year and up 1,431.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, citizen support for democracy in Japan peaked at 0.2783 in 2011 and was at its lowest, -0.0169, in 2010.
That places Japan 44th out of 144 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Citizen support for democracy in Japan, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 0.0394 | — |
| 1996 | 0.0713 | +81.1% |
| 1997 | 0.1032 | +44.7% |
| 1998 | 0.14 | +35.7% |
| 1999 | 0.1724 | +23.1% |
| 2000 | 0.2066 | +19.9% |
| 2001 | 0.2076 | +0.5% |
| 2002 | 0.2143 | +3.3% |
| 2003 | 0.1987 | -7.3% |
| 2004 | 0.0812 | -59.1% |
| 2005 | 0.2036 | +150.8% |
| 2006 | 0.0754 | -62.9% |
| 2007 | 0.0525 | -30.4% |
| 2008 | 0.0264 | -49.7% |
| 2009 | 0.0057 | -78.4% |
| 2010 | -0.0169 | -396.4% |
| 2011 | 0.2783 | -1747.3% |
| 2012 | 0.2484 | -10.8% |
| 2013 | 0.2086 | -16.0% |
| 2014 | 0.1745 | -16.3% |
| 2015 | 0.1363 | -21.9% |
| 2016 | 0.1448 | +6.3% |
| 2017 | 0.1544 | +6.6% |
| 2018 | 0.1822 | +18.1% |
| 2019 | 0.2224 | +22.0% |
| 2020 | 0.2249 | +1.2% |
Japan compared with similar countries
- Japan's 0.2249 is below the median for high income countries, which is 0.3338, 67% of the median. (50 countries reporting)
- Japan's 0.2249 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is -0.4405. (14 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Citizen support for democracy in Japan changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | +1747.3% | -0.0169 | 0.2783 |
| 2010 | -396.4% | 0.0057 | -0.0169 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.1052 | 0.0394 | 0.1724 | 5 |
| 2000s | 0.1272 | 0.0057 | 0.2143 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.1733 | -0.0169 | 0.2783 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.2249 | 0.2249 | 0.2249 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Japan
- 41 Poland 0.2986 compare
- 42 Tanzania 0.2797 compare
- 43 Ghana 0.234 compare
- 45 Azerbaijan 0.2181 compare
- 46 Trinidad and Tobago 0.2138 compare
- 47 United States 0.2049 compare
More social development data for Japan
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 42,450 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 56 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 1 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 1 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 56 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0003 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is citizen support for democracy in Japan?
- Citizen support for democracy in Japan was 0.2249 in 2020, according to Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest citizen support for democracy recorded in Japan?
- The highest recorded value was 0.2783 in 2011.
- What is the lowest citizen support for democracy recorded in Japan?
- The lowest recorded value was -0.0169 in 2010.
- How does Japan rank for citizen support for democracy?
- Japan ranks 44th out of 144 countries with data for 2020.
- Is citizen support for democracy rising or falling in Japan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1,431.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Japan data come from?
- The figures come from Claassen (2022) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Citizen support for democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Central estimate of the average extent to which citizens support a democratic political system and reject autocratic alternatives. It combines responses across more than one thousand nationally-representative surveys on how desirable citizens find democracy, how they evaluate undemocratic alternatives (such as a strong unelected leader, the army, or religious authorities), and how they assess democratic and autocratic political systems relative to another.