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Strong Elected Local Governments Index in Japan

Japan: Strong Elected Local Governments Index was 0.991 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
0.991
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
11th
of 175 countries
All-time high
0.991
in 1947
All-time low
0.13
in 1888
Years of data
138
1888–2025

Strong Elected Local Governments Index in Japan, 1888–2025

0.20.40.60.81188819562025

Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

Japan recorded 0.991 for strong elected local governments index in 2025. That is the highest value across all 138 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, strong elected local governments index in Japan peaked at 0.991 in 1947 and was at its lowest, 0.13, in 1888.

That places Japan 11th out of 175 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Strong Elected Local Governments Index in Japan, year by year

Year Value Change
1888 0.13 —
1889 0.239 +83.8%
1890 0.253 +5.9%
1891 0.253 +0.0%
1892 0.253 +0.0%
1893 0.253 +0.0%
1894 0.253 +0.0%
1895 0.253 +0.0%
1896 0.253 +0.0%
1897 0.253 +0.0%
1898 0.253 +0.0%
1899 0.253 +0.0%
1900 0.253 +0.0%
1901 0.253 +0.0%
1902 0.253 +0.0%
1903 0.253 +0.0%
1904 0.253 +0.0%
1905 0.253 +0.0%
1906 0.253 +0.0%
1907 0.253 +0.0%
1908 0.253 +0.0%
1909 0.253 +0.0%
1910 0.253 +0.0%
1911 0.253 +0.0%
1912 0.253 +0.0%
1913 0.253 +0.0%
1914 0.253 +0.0%
1915 0.253 +0.0%
1916 0.253 +0.0%
1917 0.253 +0.0%
1918 0.253 +0.0%
1919 0.253 +0.0%
1920 0.253 +0.0%
1921 0.253 +0.0%
1922 0.253 +0.0%
1923 0.253 +0.0%
1924 0.253 +0.0%
1925 0.253 +0.0%
1926 0.259 +2.4%
1927 0.259 +0.0%
1928 0.259 +0.0%
1929 0.259 +0.0%
1930 0.259 +0.0%
1931 0.259 +0.0%
1932 0.259 +0.0%
1933 0.259 +0.0%
1934 0.259 +0.0%
1935 0.259 +0.0%
1936 0.259 +0.0%
1937 0.259 +0.0%
1938 0.259 +0.0%
1939 0.259 +0.0%
1940 0.259 +0.0%
1941 0.259 +0.0%
1942 0.259 +0.0%
1943 0.259 +0.0%
1944 0.259 +0.0%
1945 0.259 +0.0%
1946 0.82 +216.6%
1947 0.991 +20.9%
1948 0.991 +0.0%
1949 0.991 +0.0%
1950 0.991 +0.0%
1951 0.991 +0.0%
1952 0.991 +0.0%
1953 0.991 +0.0%
1954 0.991 +0.0%
1955 0.991 +0.0%
1956 0.991 +0.0%
1957 0.991 +0.0%
1958 0.991 +0.0%
1959 0.991 +0.0%
1960 0.991 +0.0%
1961 0.991 +0.0%
1962 0.991 +0.0%
1963 0.991 +0.0%
1964 0.991 +0.0%
1965 0.991 +0.0%
1966 0.991 +0.0%
1967 0.991 +0.0%
1968 0.991 +0.0%
1969 0.991 +0.0%
1970 0.991 +0.0%
1971 0.991 +0.0%
1972 0.991 +0.0%
1973 0.991 +0.0%
1974 0.991 +0.0%
1975 0.991 +0.0%
1976 0.991 +0.0%
1977 0.991 +0.0%
1978 0.991 +0.0%
1979 0.991 +0.0%
1980 0.991 +0.0%
1981 0.991 +0.0%
1982 0.991 +0.0%
1983 0.991 +0.0%
1984 0.991 +0.0%
1985 0.991 +0.0%
1986 0.991 +0.0%
1987 0.991 +0.0%
1988 0.991 +0.0%
1989 0.991 +0.0%
1990 0.991 +0.0%
1991 0.991 +0.0%
1992 0.991 +0.0%
1993 0.991 +0.0%
1994 0.991 +0.0%
1995 0.991 +0.0%
1996 0.991 +0.0%
1997 0.991 +0.0%
1998 0.991 +0.0%
1999 0.991 +0.0%
2000 0.991 +0.0%
2001 0.991 +0.0%
2002 0.991 +0.0%
2003 0.991 +0.0%
2004 0.991 +0.0%
2005 0.991 +0.0%
2006 0.991 +0.0%
2007 0.991 +0.0%
2008 0.991 +0.0%
2009 0.991 +0.0%
2010 0.991 +0.0%
2011 0.991 +0.0%
2012 0.991 +0.0%
2013 0.991 +0.0%
2014 0.991 +0.0%
2015 0.991 +0.0%
2016 0.991 +0.0%
2017 0.991 +0.0%
2018 0.991 +0.0%
2019 0.991 +0.0%
2020 0.991 +0.0%
2021 0.991 +0.0%
2022 0.991 +0.0%
2023 0.991 +0.0%
2024 0.991 +0.0%
2025 0.991 +0.0%

Japan compared with similar countries

  • Japan's 0.991 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.963, 1.0× the median. (55 countries reporting)
  • Japan's 0.991 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.642, 1.5× the median. (22 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1880s 0.1845 0.13 0.239 2
1890s 0.253 0.253 0.253 10
1900s 0.253 0.253 0.253 10
1910s 0.253 0.253 0.253 10
1920s 0.2554 0.253 0.259 10
1930s 0.259 0.259 0.259 10
1940s 0.5347 0.259 0.991 10
1950s 0.991 0.991 0.991 10
1960s 0.991 0.991 0.991 10
1970s 0.991 0.991 0.991 10
1980s 0.991 0.991 0.991 10
1990s 0.991 0.991 0.991 10
2000s 0.991 0.991 0.991 10
2010s 0.991 0.991 0.991 10
2020s 0.991 0.991 0.991 6

Countries ranked near Japan

  1. 8 Indonesia 0.993 compare
  2. 9 Israel 0.992 compare
  3. 9 North Macedonia 0.992 compare
  4. 12 Sri Lanka 0.99 compare
  5. 13 Colombia 0.989 compare
  6. 14 Croatia 0.988 compare
  7. 14 France 0.988 compare
  8. 14 Latvia 0.988 compare
  9. 14 Slovakia 0.988 compare
  10. 14 South Korea 0.988 compare

See the full ranking of 175 places →

More reference data data for Japan

All data for Japan →

Frequently asked questions

What is strong elected local governments index in Japan?
Strong elected local governments index in Japan was 0.991 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest strong elected local governments index recorded in Japan?
The highest recorded value was 0.991 in 1947.
What is the lowest strong elected local governments index recorded in Japan?
The lowest recorded value was 0.13 in 1888.
How does Japan rank for strong elected local governments index?
Japan ranks 11th out of 175 countries with data for 2025.
Is strong elected local governments index rising or falling in Japan?
Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Japan data come from?
The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Strong Elected Local Governments Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Strong Elected Local Governments Index in Japan. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 28 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/strong-elected-local-governments-index/japan/

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About this data

Indicator
Strong Elected Local Governments Index
Source
V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
175 places, 25,933 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed

Central estimate of the extent to which elected local governments exist, and they operate without interference from local unelected bodies.