What is freedom of association index in Japan?

Freedom of association index in Japan was 0.924 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

What is the highest freedom of association index recorded in Japan?

The highest recorded value was 0.928 in 2018.

What is the lowest freedom of association index recorded in Japan?

The lowest recorded value was 0.06 in 1789.

How does Japan rank for freedom of association index?

Japan ranks 3rd out of 176 countries with data for 2025.

Is freedom of association index rising or falling in Japan?

Over the last ten years it is up 2.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.

Where does this Japan data come from?

The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Freedom of Association Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Freedom of Association Index in Japan

Name: Freedom of Association Index in Japan
Creator: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

Japan: Freedom of Association Index was 0.924 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)

0.924

Change on year

down 0.1%

World rank

3rd

of 176 countries

All-time high

0.928

in 2018

All-time low

0.06

in 1789

Years of data

237

1789–2025

Freedom of Association Index in Japan, 1789–2025

Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

Japan recorded 0.924 for freedom of association index in 2025.

That represents a change of down 0.1% on the previous year and up 2.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, freedom of association index in Japan peaked at 0.928 in 2018 and was at its lowest, 0.06, in 1789.

That places Japan 3rd out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Freedom of Association Index in Japan, year by year

Annual values for Freedom of Association Index in Japan, 1789 to 2025.
Year	Value	Change
1789	0.06	—
1790	0.06	+0.0%
1791	0.06	+0.0%
1792	0.06	+0.0%
1793	0.06	+0.0%
1794	0.06	+0.0%
1795	0.06	+0.0%
1796	0.06	+0.0%
1797	0.06	+0.0%
1798	0.06	+0.0%
1799	0.06	+0.0%
1800	0.06	+0.0%
1801	0.06	+0.0%
1802	0.06	+0.0%
1803	0.06	+0.0%
1804	0.06	+0.0%
1805	0.06	+0.0%
1806	0.06	+0.0%
1807	0.06	+0.0%
1808	0.06	+0.0%
1809	0.06	+0.0%
1810	0.06	+0.0%
1811	0.06	+0.0%
1812	0.06	+0.0%
1813	0.06	+0.0%
1814	0.06	+0.0%
1815	0.06	+0.0%
1816	0.06	+0.0%
1817	0.06	+0.0%
1818	0.06	+0.0%
1819	0.06	+0.0%
1820	0.06	+0.0%
1821	0.06	+0.0%
1822	0.06	+0.0%
1823	0.06	+0.0%
1824	0.06	+0.0%
1825	0.06	+0.0%
1826	0.06	+0.0%
1827	0.06	+0.0%
1828	0.06	+0.0%
1829	0.06	+0.0%
1830	0.06	+0.0%
1831	0.06	+0.0%
1832	0.06	+0.0%
1833	0.06	+0.0%
1834	0.06	+0.0%
1835	0.06	+0.0%
1836	0.06	+0.0%
1837	0.06	+0.0%
1838	0.06	+0.0%
1839	0.06	+0.0%
1840	0.06	+0.0%
1841	0.06	+0.0%
1842	0.06	+0.0%
1843	0.06	+0.0%
1844	0.06	+0.0%
1845	0.06	+0.0%
1846	0.06	+0.0%
1847	0.06	+0.0%
1848	0.06	+0.0%
1849	0.06	+0.0%
1850	0.06	+0.0%
1851	0.06	+0.0%
1852	0.06	+0.0%
1853	0.06	+0.0%
1854	0.06	+0.0%
1855	0.06	+0.0%
1856	0.06	+0.0%
1857	0.06	+0.0%
1858	0.06	+0.0%
1859	0.06	+0.0%
1860	0.06	+0.0%
1861	0.06	+0.0%
1862	0.06	+0.0%
1863	0.06	+0.0%
1864	0.06	+0.0%
1865	0.06	+0.0%
1866	0.06	+0.0%
1867	0.06	+0.0%
1868	0.06	+0.0%
1869	0.073	+21.7%
1870	0.29	+297.3%
1871	0.29	+0.0%
1872	0.29	+0.0%
1873	0.29	+0.0%
1874	0.29	+0.0%
1875	0.29	+0.0%
1876	0.29	+0.0%
1877	0.29	+0.0%
1878	0.29	+0.0%
1879	0.29	+0.0%
1880	0.29	+0.0%
1881	0.29	+0.0%
1882	0.29	+0.0%
1883	0.29	+0.0%
1884	0.29	+0.0%
1885	0.29	+0.0%
1886	0.29	+0.0%
1887	0.29	+0.0%
1888	0.29	+0.0%
1889	0.29	+0.0%
1890	0.356	+22.8%
1891	0.406	+14.0%
1892	0.485	+19.5%
1893	0.484	-0.2%
1894	0.475	-1.9%
1895	0.474	-0.2%
1896	0.474	+0.0%
1897	0.474	+0.0%
1898	0.459	-3.2%
1899	0.445	-3.1%
1900	0.446	+0.2%
1901	0.44	-1.3%
1902	0.442	+0.5%
1903	0.444	+0.5%
1904	0.444	+0.0%
1905	0.444	+0.0%
1906	0.434	-2.3%
1907	0.434	+0.0%
1908	0.439	+1.2%
1909	0.441	+0.5%
1910	0.432	-2.0%
1911	0.432	+0.0%
1912	0.437	+1.2%
1913	0.439	+0.5%
1914	0.439	+0.0%
1915	0.434	-1.1%
1916	0.432	-0.5%
1917	0.433	+0.2%
1918	0.433	+0.0%
1919	0.433	+0.0%
1920	0.436	+0.7%
1921	0.437	+0.2%
1922	0.437	+0.0%
1923	0.437	+0.0%
1924	0.434	-0.7%
1925	0.419	-3.5%
1926	0.42	+0.2%
1927	0.42	+0.0%
1928	0.422	+0.5%
1929	0.423	+0.2%
1930	0.407	-3.8%
1931	0.4	-1.7%
1932	0.4	+0.0%
1933	0.401	+0.3%
1934	0.401	+0.0%
1935	0.401	+0.0%
1936	0.403	+0.5%
1937	0.356	-11.7%
1938	0.34	-4.5%
1939	0.34	+0.0%
1940	0.23	-32.4%
1941	0.222	-3.5%
1942	0.191	-14.0%
1943	0.177	-7.3%
1944	0.177	+0.0%
1945	0.305	+72.3%
1946	0.768	+151.8%
1947	0.813	+5.9%
1948	0.817	+0.5%
1949	0.812	-0.6%
1950	0.824	+1.5%
1951	0.824	+0.0%
1952	0.822	-0.2%
1953	0.845	+2.8%
1954	0.845	+0.0%
1955	0.877	+3.8%
1956	0.891	+1.6%
1957	0.891	+0.0%
1958	0.89	-0.1%
1959	0.89	+0.0%
1960	0.89	+0.0%
1961	0.891	+0.1%
1962	0.891	+0.0%
1963	0.891	+0.0%
1964	0.891	+0.0%
1965	0.891	+0.0%
1966	0.891	+0.0%
1967	0.893	+0.2%
1968	0.893	+0.0%
1969	0.893	+0.0%
1970	0.891	-0.2%
1971	0.895	+0.4%
1972	0.895	+0.0%
1973	0.892	-0.3%
1974	0.892	+0.0%
1975	0.892	+0.0%
1976	0.892	+0.0%
1977	0.896	+0.4%
1978	0.896	+0.0%
1979	0.897	+0.1%
1980	0.896	-0.1%
1981	0.896	+0.0%
1982	0.896	+0.0%
1983	0.896	+0.0%
1984	0.897	+0.1%
1985	0.897	+0.0%
1986	0.896	-0.1%
1987	0.895	-0.1%
1988	0.895	+0.0%
1989	0.895	+0.0%
1990	0.899	+0.4%
1991	0.899	+0.0%
1992	0.899	+0.0%
1993	0.898	-0.1%
1994	0.898	+0.0%
1995	0.898	+0.0%
1996	0.898	+0.0%
1997	0.899	+0.1%
1998	0.899	+0.0%
1999	0.899	+0.0%
2000	0.898	-0.1%
2001	0.897	-0.1%
2002	0.897	+0.0%
2003	0.897	+0.0%
2004	0.899	+0.2%
2005	0.9	+0.1%
2006	0.901	+0.1%
2007	0.901	+0.0%
2008	0.902	+0.1%
2009	0.909	+0.8%
2010	0.91	+0.1%
2011	0.91	+0.0%
2012	0.906	-0.4%
2013	0.902	-0.4%
2014	0.902	+0.0%
2015	0.905	+0.3%
2016	0.905	+0.0%
2017	0.905	+0.0%
2018	0.928	+2.5%
2019	0.928	+0.0%
2020	0.928	+0.0%
2021	0.928	+0.0%
2022	0.925	-0.3%
2023	0.925	+0.0%
2024	0.925	+0.0%
2025	0.924	-0.1%

Japan compared with similar countries

Japan's 0.924 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.868, 1.1× the median. (55 countries reporting)
Japan's 0.924 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.708, 1.3× the median. (22 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1780s	0.06	0.06	0.06	1
1790s	0.06	0.06	0.06	10
1800s	0.06	0.06	0.06	10
1810s	0.06	0.06	0.06	10
1820s	0.06	0.06	0.06	10
1830s	0.06	0.06	0.06	10
1840s	0.06	0.06	0.06	10
1850s	0.06	0.06	0.06	10
1860s	0.0613	0.06	0.073	10
1870s	0.29	0.29	0.29	10
1880s	0.29	0.29	0.29	10
1890s	0.4532	0.356	0.485	10
1900s	0.4408	0.434	0.446	10
1910s	0.4344	0.432	0.439	10
1920s	0.4285	0.419	0.437	10
1930s	0.3849	0.34	0.407	10
1940s	0.4512	0.177	0.817	10
1950s	0.8599	0.822	0.891	10
1960s	0.8915	0.89	0.893	10
1970s	0.8938	0.891	0.897	10
1980s	0.8959	0.895	0.897	10
1990s	0.8986	0.898	0.899	10
2000s	0.9001	0.897	0.909	10
2010s	0.9101	0.902	0.928	10
2020s	0.9258	0.924	0.928	6

Countries ranked near Japan

1 Sweden 0.931 compare
2 Denmark 0.929 compare
4 Costa Rica 0.922 compare
5 Iceland 0.917 compare
5 Switzerland 0.917 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

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)

All data for Japan →

Frequently asked questions

What is freedom of association index in Japan?: Freedom of association index in Japan was 0.924 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest freedom of association index recorded in Japan?: The highest recorded value was 0.928 in 2018.
What is the lowest freedom of association index recorded in Japan?: The lowest recorded value was 0.06 in 1789.
How does Japan rank for freedom of association index?: Japan ranks 3rd out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is freedom of association index rising or falling in Japan?: Over the last ten years it is up 2.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Japan data come from?: The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Freedom of Association Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 237 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Freedom of Association Index in Japan. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 08 October 2026, from https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/freedom-of-association-index/japan/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/freedom-of-association-index/japan/">Freedom of Association Index in Japan</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator: Freedom of Association Index
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 176 places, 30,011 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed: 18 September 2026

Central estimate of the extent to which parties, including opposition parties, are allowed to form and participate in elections and the extent to which civil society organizations are allowed to form and operate freely.