What is key features of democracy in Japan?

Key features of democracy in Japan was 0.819 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

What is the highest key features of democracy recorded in Japan?

The highest recorded value was 0.854 in 2009.

What is the lowest key features of democracy recorded in Japan?

The lowest recorded value was 0.025 in 1789.

How does Japan rank for key features of democracy?

Japan ranks 24th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.

Is key features of democracy rising or falling in Japan?

Over the last ten years it is up 0.2%. 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 Key features of democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Key features of democracy in Japan

Name: Key features of democracy in Japan
Creator: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

Japan: Key features of democracy was 0.819 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)

0.819

Change on year

down 0.4%

World rank

24th

of 176 countries

All-time high

0.854

in 2009

All-time low

0.025

in 1789

Years of data

237

1789–2025

Key features of democracy in Japan, 1789–2025

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for key features of democracy in Japan is 0.819, measured in 2025.

The figure is down 0.4% on the previous year and up 0.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, key features of democracy in Japan peaked at 0.854 in 2009 and was at its lowest, 0.025, in 1789.

Japan ranks 24th of 176 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

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

Key features of democracy in Japan, year by year

Annual values for Key features of democracy in Japan, 1789 to 2025.
Year	Value	Change
1789	0.025	—
1790	0.027	+8.0%
1791	0.027	+0.0%
1792	0.027	+0.0%
1793	0.027	+0.0%
1794	0.027	+0.0%
1795	0.027	+0.0%
1796	0.027	+0.0%
1797	0.027	+0.0%
1798	0.027	+0.0%
1799	0.027	+0.0%
1800	0.027	+0.0%
1801	0.027	+0.0%
1802	0.027	+0.0%
1803	0.027	+0.0%
1804	0.027	+0.0%
1805	0.027	+0.0%
1806	0.027	+0.0%
1807	0.027	+0.0%
1808	0.027	+0.0%
1809	0.027	+0.0%
1810	0.027	+0.0%
1811	0.027	+0.0%
1812	0.027	+0.0%
1813	0.027	+0.0%
1814	0.027	+0.0%
1815	0.027	+0.0%
1816	0.027	+0.0%
1817	0.027	+0.0%
1818	0.027	+0.0%
1819	0.027	+0.0%
1820	0.027	+0.0%
1821	0.027	+0.0%
1822	0.027	+0.0%
1823	0.027	+0.0%
1824	0.027	+0.0%
1825	0.027	+0.0%
1826	0.027	+0.0%
1827	0.027	+0.0%
1828	0.027	+0.0%
1829	0.027	+0.0%
1830	0.027	+0.0%
1831	0.027	+0.0%
1832	0.027	+0.0%
1833	0.027	+0.0%
1834	0.027	+0.0%
1835	0.027	+0.0%
1836	0.027	+0.0%
1837	0.027	+0.0%
1838	0.027	+0.0%
1839	0.027	+0.0%
1840	0.027	+0.0%
1841	0.027	+0.0%
1842	0.027	+0.0%
1843	0.027	+0.0%
1844	0.027	+0.0%
1845	0.027	+0.0%
1846	0.027	+0.0%
1847	0.027	+0.0%
1848	0.027	+0.0%
1849	0.027	+0.0%
1850	0.029	+7.4%
1851	0.029	+0.0%
1852	0.029	+0.0%
1853	0.029	+0.0%
1854	0.029	+0.0%
1855	0.029	+0.0%
1856	0.029	+0.0%
1857	0.029	+0.0%
1858	0.029	+0.0%
1859	0.029	+0.0%
1860	0.029	+0.0%
1861	0.029	+0.0%
1862	0.029	+0.0%
1863	0.029	+0.0%
1864	0.029	+0.0%
1865	0.029	+0.0%
1866	0.029	+0.0%
1867	0.029	+0.0%
1868	0.036	+24.1%
1869	0.047	+30.6%
1870	0.083	+76.6%
1871	0.083	+0.0%
1872	0.083	+0.0%
1873	0.083	+0.0%
1874	0.083	+0.0%
1875	0.083	+0.0%
1876	0.083	+0.0%
1877	0.083	+0.0%
1878	0.083	+0.0%
1879	0.083	+0.0%
1880	0.083	+0.0%
1881	0.083	+0.0%
1882	0.083	+0.0%
1883	0.083	+0.0%
1884	0.083	+0.0%
1885	0.083	+0.0%
1886	0.083	+0.0%
1887	0.083	+0.0%
1888	0.083	+0.0%
1889	0.083	+0.0%
1890	0.129	+55.4%
1891	0.166	+28.7%
1892	0.153	-7.8%
1893	0.149	-2.6%
1894	0.158	+6.0%
1895	0.159	+0.6%
1896	0.159	+0.0%
1897	0.159	+0.0%
1898	0.16	+0.6%
1899	0.158	-1.3%
1900	0.171	+8.2%
1901	0.172	+0.6%
1902	0.173	+0.6%
1903	0.175	+1.2%
1904	0.173	-1.1%
1905	0.173	+0.0%
1906	0.173	+0.0%
1907	0.173	+0.0%
1908	0.173	+0.0%
1909	0.174	+0.6%
1910	0.174	+0.0%
1911	0.174	+0.0%
1912	0.174	+0.0%
1913	0.174	+0.0%
1914	0.174	+0.0%
1915	0.175	+0.6%
1916	0.176	+0.6%
1917	0.181	+2.8%
1918	0.184	+1.7%
1919	0.184	+0.0%
1920	0.186	+1.1%
1921	0.185	-0.5%
1922	0.185	+0.0%
1923	0.185	+0.0%
1924	0.193	+4.3%
1925	0.19	-1.6%
1926	0.211	+11.1%
1927	0.211	+0.0%
1928	0.209	-0.9%
1929	0.209	+0.0%
1930	0.205	-1.9%
1931	0.205	+0.0%
1932	0.202	-1.5%
1933	0.201	-0.5%
1934	0.199	-1.0%
1935	0.194	-2.5%
1936	0.195	+0.5%
1937	0.173	-11.3%
1938	0.168	-2.9%
1939	0.167	-0.6%
1940	0.148	-11.4%
1941	0.147	-0.7%
1942	0.14	-4.8%
1943	0.137	-2.1%
1944	0.137	+0.0%
1945	0.182	+32.8%
1946	0.309	+69.8%
1947	0.37	+19.7%
1948	0.371	+0.3%
1949	0.372	+0.3%
1950	0.375	+0.8%
1951	0.376	+0.3%
1952	0.616	+63.8%
1953	0.777	+26.1%
1954	0.777	+0.0%
1955	0.812	+4.5%
1956	0.816	+0.5%
1957	0.816	+0.0%
1958	0.824	+1.0%
1959	0.829	+0.6%
1960	0.829	+0.0%
1961	0.831	+0.2%
1962	0.831	+0.0%
1963	0.831	+0.0%
1964	0.831	+0.0%
1965	0.831	+0.0%
1966	0.831	+0.0%
1967	0.83	-0.1%
1968	0.83	+0.0%
1969	0.83	+0.0%
1970	0.836	+0.7%
1971	0.837	+0.1%
1972	0.836	-0.1%
1973	0.832	-0.5%
1974	0.832	+0.0%
1975	0.832	+0.0%
1976	0.833	+0.1%
1977	0.838	+0.6%
1978	0.838	+0.0%
1979	0.838	+0.0%
1980	0.835	-0.4%
1981	0.835	+0.0%
1982	0.835	+0.0%
1983	0.836	+0.1%
1984	0.838	+0.2%
1985	0.838	+0.0%
1986	0.836	-0.2%
1987	0.834	-0.2%
1988	0.834	+0.0%
1989	0.834	+0.0%
1990	0.835	+0.1%
1991	0.835	+0.0%
1992	0.835	+0.0%
1993	0.837	+0.2%
1994	0.839	+0.2%
1995	0.839	+0.0%
1996	0.838	-0.1%
1997	0.837	-0.1%
1998	0.837	+0.0%
1999	0.837	+0.0%
2000	0.838	+0.1%
2001	0.838	+0.0%
2002	0.838	+0.0%
2003	0.838	+0.0%
2004	0.838	+0.0%
2005	0.841	+0.4%
2006	0.849	+1.0%
2007	0.849	+0.0%
2008	0.846	-0.4%
2009	0.854	+0.9%
2010	0.852	-0.2%
2011	0.852	+0.0%
2012	0.848	-0.5%
2013	0.815	-3.9%
2014	0.815	+0.0%
2015	0.817	+0.2%
2016	0.817	+0.0%
2017	0.821	+0.5%
2018	0.832	+1.3%
2019	0.83	-0.2%
2020	0.831	+0.1%
2021	0.824	-0.8%
2022	0.823	-0.1%
2023	0.826	+0.4%
2024	0.822	-0.5%
2025	0.819	-0.4%

Japan compared with similar countries

Japan's 0.819 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.786, 1.0× the median. (55 countries reporting)
Japan's 0.819 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.4645, 1.8× the median. (22 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1780s	0.025	0.025	0.025	1
1790s	0.027	0.027	0.027	10
1800s	0.027	0.027	0.027	10
1810s	0.027	0.027	0.027	10
1820s	0.027	0.027	0.027	10
1830s	0.027	0.027	0.027	10
1840s	0.027	0.027	0.027	10
1850s	0.029	0.029	0.029	10
1860s	0.0315	0.029	0.047	10
1870s	0.083	0.083	0.083	10
1880s	0.083	0.083	0.083	10
1890s	0.155	0.129	0.166	10
1900s	0.173	0.171	0.175	10
1910s	0.177	0.174	0.184	10
1920s	0.1964	0.185	0.211	10
1930s	0.1909	0.167	0.205	10
1940s	0.2313	0.137	0.372	10
1950s	0.7018	0.375	0.829	10
1960s	0.8305	0.829	0.831	10
1970s	0.8352	0.832	0.838	10
1980s	0.8355	0.834	0.838	10
1990s	0.8369	0.835	0.839	10
2000s	0.8429	0.838	0.854	10
2010s	0.8299	0.815	0.852	10
2020s	0.8242	0.819	0.831	6

Countries ranked near Japan

21 Germany 0.828 compare
22 Portugal 0.822 compare
22 Spain 0.822 compare
24 South Korea 0.819 compare
26 Iceland 0.807 compare
27 Jamaica 0.805 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 key features of democracy in Japan?: Key features of democracy in Japan was 0.819 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest key features of democracy recorded in Japan?: The highest recorded value was 0.854 in 2009.
What is the lowest key features of democracy recorded in Japan?: The lowest recorded value was 0.025 in 1789.
How does Japan rank for key features of democracy?: Japan ranks 24th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is key features of democracy rising or falling in Japan?: Over the last ten years it is up 0.2%. 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 Key features of democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Key features of democracy 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/key-features-of-democracy/japan/

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About this data

Indicator: Key features 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: 18 September 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.