Japan vs United States: Universal right to vote in practice
Japan
2
in 2025
United States
2
in 2025
Japan rank
1st
United States rank
1st
Universal right to vote in practice over time
- Japan
- United States
How they compare
Japan currently reports 2 against 2 in United States, a difference of 0.
The two have swapped places 4 times across 237 shared years of data; in 1789 it was United States ahead.
Japan ranks 1st and United States ranks 1st of 197 countries.
Japan has averaged higher in every one of the 25 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Japan | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1780s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1790s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1800s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1810s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1820s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1830s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1840s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1850s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1860s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1870s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1880s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1890s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1900s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1910s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1920s | 0.5 | 0 | 0.5 | Japan |
| 1930s | 0.6 | 0 | 0.6 | Japan |
| 1940s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1950s | 1.6 | 0 | 1.6 | Japan |
| 1960s | 2 | 1 | 1 | Japan |
| 1970s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 1980s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 1990s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 2000s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 2010s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 2020s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher universal right to vote in practice, Japan or United States?
- Japan, at 2 against 2 in United States as of 2025.
- What is the difference in universal right to vote in practice between Japan and United States?
- 0, with Japan ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Japan and United States?
- 237 years are reported by both, from 1789 to 2025.
- How do Japan and United States rank globally for universal right to vote in practice?
- Japan ranks 1st and United States ranks 1st of 197 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Universal right to vote in practice. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Indicates whether virtually all adult citizens have the right to vote in practice (score 2), only men have broad voting rights in practice (score 1), or there are no broad voting rights in practice (score 0).