What is the difference in participatory political institutions index between Japan and South Africa?

0.001, with South Africa ahead.

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

126 years are reported by both, from 1900 to 2025.

Where does this data come from?

V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Participatory Political Institutions Index. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Japan vs South Africa: Participatory Political Institutions Index

Japan

0.563

in 2025

South Africa

0.564

in 2025

Japan rank

66th

South Africa rank

64th

Participatory Political Institutions Index over time

Japan
South Africa

How they compare

South Africa currently reports 0.564 against 0.563 in Japan, a difference of 0.001.

The two have swapped places 4 times across 126 shared years of data; in 1900 it was South Africa ahead.

Japan ranks 66th and South Africa ranks 64th of 176 countries.

Across the 13 decades both report, Japan averaged higher in 4 and South Africa in 9.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Japan	South Africa	Difference	Ahead
1900s	0.1828	0.3551	0.1723	South Africa
1910s	0.195	0.4018	0.2068	South Africa
1920s	0.2209	0.404	0.1831	South Africa
1930s	0.189	0.4136	0.2246	South Africa
1940s	0.3255	0.4082	0.0827	South Africa
1950s	0.5595	0.388	0.1715	Japan
1960s	0.56	0.4003	0.1597	Japan
1970s	0.567	0.4031	0.1639	Japan
1980s	0.5756	0.3991	0.1765	Japan
1990s	0.5799	0.5807	0.0008	South Africa
2000s	0.5824	0.638	0.0556	South Africa
2010s	0.5802	0.6074	0.0272	South Africa
2020s	0.5653	0.574	0.0087	South Africa

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher participatory political institutions index, Japan or South Africa?: South Africa, at 0.564 against 0.563 in Japan as of 2025.
What is the difference in participatory political institutions index between Japan and South Africa?: 0.001, with South Africa ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Japan and South Africa?: 126 years are reported by both, from 1900 to 2025.
How do Japan and South Africa rank globally for participatory political institutions index?: Japan ranks 66th and South Africa ranks 64th of 176 countries.
Where does this data come from?: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Participatory Political Institutions Index. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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Japan vs South Africa: Participatory Political Institutions Index. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 09 November 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/participatory-political-institutions-index/japan/south-africa/

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<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/participatory-political-institutions-index/japan/south-africa/">Japan vs South Africa: Participatory Political Institutions Index</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator: Participatory Political Institutions Index
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 176 places, 29,844 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed: 30 October 2026

Central estimate of the extent to which citizens can engage in regional and local government, civil society organizations, and direct democracy.