Civil Liberties Score in Japan

Japan: Civil Liberties Score was 56 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
56
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
23rd
of 197 countries
All-time high
56
in 2015
All-time low
51
in 2005
Years of data
23
2003–2025

Civil Liberties Score in Japan, 2003–2025

02040602003201420252003: 522004: 522005: 512006: 512007: 512008: 512009: 512010: 512011: 512012: 512013: 532014: 552015: 562016: 562017: 562018: 562019: 562020: 562021: 562022: 562023: 562024: 562025: 56

Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

In 2025, civil liberties score in Japan stood at 56. That is the highest value across all 23 years on record.

The figure is unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, civil liberties score in Japan peaked at 56 in 2015 and was at its lowest, 51, in 2005.

Japan ranks 23rd of 197 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 51.29 51 52 7
2010s 54.1 51 56 10
2020s 56 56 56 6

Countries ranked near Japan

  1. 23 Austria 56 compare
  2. 23 Tuvalu 56 compare
  3. 26 Andorra 55 compare
  4. 26 Australia 55 compare
  5. 26 Dominica 55 compare
  6. 26 Germany 55 compare
  7. 26 Marshall Islands 55 compare
  8. 26 Micronesia (country) 55 compare
  9. 26 Palau 55 compare
  10. 26 Taiwan 55 compare

See the full ranking of 197 places →

More reference data data for Japan

All data for Japan →

Frequently asked questions

What is civil liberties score in Japan?
Civil liberties score in Japan was 56 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest civil liberties score recorded in Japan?
The highest recorded value was 56 in 2015.
What is the lowest civil liberties score recorded in Japan?
The lowest recorded value was 51 in 2005.
How does Japan rank for civil liberties score?
Japan ranks 23rd out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
Is civil liberties 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 Civil Liberties Score. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 23 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Civil Liberties Score
Source
Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
197 places, 4,511 data points, 2003–2025
Last refreshed

The variable identifies the fine-grained extent of freedom of expression and association, the rule of law, and personal autonomy. Higher scores indicate more liberties.