Freedom Score in Japan
Japan: Freedom Score was 96 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Freedom Score in Japan, 2002–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, freedom score in Japan stood at 96. That is the highest value across all 24 years on record.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, freedom score in Japan peaked at 96 in 2015 and was at its lowest, 88, in 2002.
Japan ranks 13th of 197 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Freedom Score in Japan, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 88 | — |
| 2003 | 88 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 89 | +1.1% |
| 2005 | 88 | -1.1% |
| 2006 | 88 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 88 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 88 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 88 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 88 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 88 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 88 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 90 | +2.3% |
| 2014 | 94 | +4.4% |
| 2015 | 96 | +2.1% |
| 2016 | 96 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 96 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 96 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 96 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 96 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 96 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 96 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 96 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 96 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 96 | +0.0% |
Japan compared with similar countries
- Japan's 96 is above the median for high income countries, which is 90, 1.1× the median. (66 countries reporting)
- Japan's 96 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 73, 1.3× the median. (31 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 88.12 | 88 | 89 | 8 |
| 2010s | 92.8 | 88 | 96 | 10 |
| 2020s | 96 | 96 | 96 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Japan
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 freedom score in Japan?
- Freedom score in Japan was 96 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest freedom score recorded in Japan?
- The highest recorded value was 96 in 2015.
- What is the lowest freedom score recorded in Japan?
- The lowest recorded value was 88 in 2002.
- How does Japan rank for freedom score?
- Japan ranks 13th out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is freedom score rising or falling in Japan?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Japan data come from?
- The figures come from Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Freedom Score. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Freedom House's total democracy score is a 0-to-100 aggregate that adds up a country's points on 25 indicators of political rights (max 40) and civil liberties (max 60), creating a single snapshot of the freedoms people actually enjoy.