Bulgaria vs Japan: Democracy
Bulgaria
7
in 2025
Japan
7
in 2025
Bulgaria rank
1st
Japan rank
1st
Democracy over time
- Bulgaria
- Japan
How they compare
Bulgaria currently reports 7 against 7 in Japan, a difference of 0.
The two have swapped places 12 times across 148 shared years of data; in 1878 it was Japan ahead.
Bulgaria ranks 1st and Japan ranks 1st of 197 countries.
Across the 16 decades both report, Bulgaria averaged higher in 3 and Japan in 9.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Bulgaria | Japan | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 1 | 0 | 1 | Bulgaria |
| 1880s | 1.7 | 0 | 1.7 | Bulgaria |
| 1890s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 1900s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 1910s | 2.1 | 2.4 | 0.3 | Japan |
| 1920s | 3 | 4.5 | 1.5 | Japan |
| 1930s | 2.2 | 3 | 0.8 | Japan |
| 1940s | 2.1 | 0.5 | 1.6 | Bulgaria |
| 1950s | 1 | 5.4 | 4.4 | Japan |
| 1960s | 1 | 7 | 6 | Japan |
| 1970s | 1 | 7 | 6 | Japan |
| 1980s | 1 | 7 | 6 | Japan |
| 1990s | 6 | 7 | 1 | Japan |
| 2000s | 6.9 | 7 | 0.1 | Japan |
| 2010s | 7 | 7 | 0 | — |
| 2020s | 7 | 7 | 0 | — |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher democracy, Bulgaria or Japan?
- Bulgaria, at 7 against 7 in Japan as of 2025.
- What is the difference in democracy between Bulgaria and Japan?
- 0, with Bulgaria ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Bulgaria and Japan?
- 148 years are reported by both, from 1878 to 2025.
- How do Bulgaria and Japan rank globally for democracy?
- Bulgaria ranks 1st and Japan ranks 1st of 197 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Democracy. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Identifies the political regime of a country. It distinguishes between non-electoral autocracies (score 0), one-party autocracies (score 1), multi-party autocracies without elected executive (score 2), multi-party autocracies (score 3), exclusive democracies (score 4), male democracies (score 5), electoral democracies (score 6), and full democracies (score 7).