Statizoid

Free country in Japan

Japan: Free country was 2 in 2025. ▬ Flat

Latest (2025)
2
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
1st
of 199 countries
All-time high
2
in 1972
All-time low
2
in 1972
Years of data
53
1972–2025

Free country in Japan, 1972–2025

00.511.52197219982025

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

Analysis

In 2025, free country in Japan stood at 2. That is the highest value across all 53 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, free country in Japan peaked at 2 in 1972 and was at its lowest, 2, in 1972.

That places Japan 1st out of 199 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.

Free country in Japan, year by year

Year Value Change
1972 2 —
1973 2 +0.0%
1974 2 +0.0%
1975 2 +0.0%
1976 2 +0.0%
1977 2 +0.0%
1978 2 +0.0%
1979 2 +0.0%
1980 2 +0.0%
1982 2 +0.0%
1983 2 +0.0%
1984 2 +0.0%
1985 2 +0.0%
1986 2 +0.0%
1987 2 +0.0%
1988 2 +0.0%
1989 2 +0.0%
1990 2 +0.0%
1991 2 +0.0%
1992 2 +0.0%
1993 2 +0.0%
1994 2 +0.0%
1995 2 +0.0%
1996 2 +0.0%
1997 2 +0.0%
1998 2 +0.0%
1999 2 +0.0%
2000 2 +0.0%
2001 2 +0.0%
2002 2 +0.0%
2003 2 +0.0%
2004 2 +0.0%
2005 2 +0.0%
2006 2 +0.0%
2007 2 +0.0%
2008 2 +0.0%
2009 2 +0.0%
2010 2 +0.0%
2011 2 +0.0%
2012 2 +0.0%
2013 2 +0.0%
2014 2 +0.0%
2015 2 +0.0%
2016 2 +0.0%
2017 2 +0.0%
2018 2 +0.0%
2019 2 +0.0%
2020 2 +0.0%
2021 2 +0.0%
2022 2 +0.0%
2023 2 +0.0%
2024 2 +0.0%
2025 2 +0.0%

Japan compared with similar countries

  • Japan's 2 is above the median for high income countries, which is 2, 1.0× the median. (66 countries reporting)
  • Japan's 2 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 2, 1.0× the median. (31 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 2 2 2 8
1980s 2 2 2 9
1990s 2 2 2 10
2000s 2 2 2 10
2010s 2 2 2 10
2020s 2 2 2 6

Countries ranked near Japan

  1. 1 Andorra 2 compare
  2. 1 Antigua and Barbuda 2 compare
  3. 1 Argentina 2 compare
  4. 1 Australia 2 compare
  5. 1 Austria 2 compare
  6. 1 Bahamas 2 compare
  7. 1 Barbados 2 compare
  8. 1 Belgium 2 compare
  9. 1 Belize 2 compare
  10. 1 Bhutan 2 compare
  11. 1 Bolivia 2 compare
  12. 1 Botswana 2 compare
  13. 1 Brazil 2 compare
  14. 1 Bulgaria 2 compare
  15. 1 Canada 2 compare
  16. 1 Cape Verde 2 compare
  17. 1 Chile 2 compare
  18. 1 Colombia 2 compare
  19. 1 Costa Rica 2 compare
  20. 1 Croatia 2 compare
  21. 1 Cyprus 2 compare
  22. 1 Czechia 2 compare
  23. 1 Denmark 2 compare
  24. 1 Dominica 2 compare
  25. 1 East Timor 2 compare
  26. 1 Estonia 2 compare
  27. 1 Fiji 2 compare
  28. 1 Finland 2 compare
  29. 1 France 2 compare
  30. 1 Germany 2 compare
  31. 1 Ghana 2 compare
  32. 1 Greece 2 compare
  33. 1 Grenada 2 compare
  34. 1 Guyana 2 compare
  35. 1 Iceland 2 compare
  36. 1 Ireland 2 compare
  37. 1 Israel 2 compare
  38. 1 Italy 2 compare
  39. 1 Jamaica 2 compare
  40. 1 Kiribati 2 compare
  41. 1 Latvia 2 compare
  42. 1 Lesotho 2 compare
  43. 1 Liechtenstein 2 compare
  44. 1 Lithuania 2 compare
  45. 1 Luxembourg 2 compare
  46. 1 Malawi 2 compare
  47. 1 Malta 2 compare
  48. 1 Marshall Islands 2 compare
  49. 1 Mauritius 2 compare
  50. 1 Micronesia (country) 2 compare
  51. 1 Monaco 2 compare
  52. 1 Mongolia 2 compare
  53. 1 Namibia 2 compare
  54. 1 Nauru 2 compare
  55. 1 Netherlands 2 compare
  56. 1 New Zealand 2 compare
  57. 1 Norway 2 compare
  58. 1 Palau 2 compare
  59. 1 Panama 2 compare
  60. 1 Poland 2 compare
  61. 1 Portugal 2 compare
  62. 1 Puerto Rico 2 compare
  63. 1 Romania 2 compare
  64. 1 Saint Kitts and Nevis 2 compare
  65. 1 Saint Lucia 2 compare
  66. 1 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2 compare
  67. 1 Samoa 2 compare
  68. 1 San Marino 2 compare
  69. 1 Sao Tome and Principe 2 compare
  70. 1 Senegal 2 compare
  71. 1 Seychelles 2 compare
  72. 1 Slovakia 2 compare
  73. 1 Slovenia 2 compare
  74. 1 Solomon Islands 2 compare
  75. 1 South Africa 2 compare
  76. 1 South Korea 2 compare
  77. 1 Spain 2 compare
  78. 1 Suriname 2 compare
  79. 1 Sweden 2 compare
  80. 1 Switzerland 2 compare
  81. 1 Taiwan 2 compare
  82. 1 Tonga 2 compare
  83. 1 Trinidad and Tobago 2 compare
  84. 1 Tuvalu 2 compare
  85. 1 United Kingdom 2 compare
  86. 1 United States 2 compare
  87. 1 Uruguay 2 compare
  88. 1 Vanuatu 2 compare

See the full ranking of 199 places →

More reference data data for Japan

All data for Japan →

Frequently asked questions

What is free country in Japan?
Free country in Japan was 2 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest free country recorded in Japan?
The highest recorded value was 2 in 1972.
What is the lowest free country recorded in Japan?
The lowest recorded value was 2 in 1972.
How does Japan rank for free country?
Japan ranks 1st out of 199 countries with data for 2025.
Is free country rising or falling in Japan?
Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this Japan data come from?
The figures come from Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Free country. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 53 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

Relationships involving this indicator

Comparisons with other indicators across countries. Each was re-measured with population and national income held constant, so a relationship that only reflected country size is not listed here.

All correlations →

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Free country in Japan. Statizoid, drawing on Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/political-regime-fh/japan/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/political-regime-fh/japan/">Free country in Japan</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Free country
Source
Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
199 places, 10,083 data points, 1972–2025
Last refreshed

The variable identifies the political regime of a country. It distinguishes between free countries (score 2), partly free countries (score 1), and not free countries (score 0).