Germany vs Japan: Trade union density
Trade union density over time
- Germany
- Japan
How they compare
Japan currently reports 16.2 Percentage of employees against 14.1 Percentage of employees in Germany, a difference of 2.1 Percentage of employees.
That makes Japan's figure about 1.1 times Germany's.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 65 shared years of data; in 1960 it was Germany ahead.
Germany ranks 19th and Japan ranks 16th of 31 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, Germany averaged higher in 3 and Japan in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Germany | Japan | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 32.37 Percentage of employees | 34.52 Percentage of employees | 2.15 Percentage of employees | Japan |
| 1970s | 32.85 Percentage of employees | 33.74 Percentage of employees | 0.89 Percentage of employees | Japan |
| 1980s | 32.18 Percentage of employees | 28.93 Percentage of employees | 3.25 Percentage of employees | Germany |
| 1990s | 27.9 Percentage of employees | 23.82 Percentage of employees | 4.08 Percentage of employees | Germany |
| 2000s | 19.75 Percentage of employees | 19.35 Percentage of employees | 0.4 Percentage of employees | Germany |
| 2010s | 16.23 Percentage of employees | 17.5 Percentage of employees | 1.27 Percentage of employees | Japan |
| 2020s | 14.54 Percentage of employees | 16.54 Percentage of employees | 2 Percentage of employees | Japan |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher trade union density, Germany or Japan?
- Japan, at 16.2 Percentage of employees against 14.1 Percentage of employees in Germany as of 2024.
- What is the difference in trade union density between Germany and Japan?
- 2.1 Percentage of employees, with Japan ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Germany and Japan?
- 65 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2024.
- How do Germany and Japan rank globally for trade union density?
- Germany ranks 19th and Japan ranks 16th of 31 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as Trade union density. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
The database on Institutional Characteristics of Trade Unions, Wage Setting, State Intervention and Social Pacts (ICTWSS) was developed by Prof. Jelle Visser at the University of Amsterdam. It was first released in May 2007. In its initial form, the ICTWSS database combined data from various sources and projects with a main focus on trade union in EU and OECD countries, collective bargaining and employment relations in Europe, and social pacts. In 2021, the ICTWSS database was rebranded as the OECD/AIAS ICTWSS database to reflect the joint effort by the OECD and AIAS-HSI to ensure the continuation of the database following Prof. Visser’s retirement. The OECD/AIAS ICTWSS database is publicly available at: http://www.oecd.org/employment/ictwss-database.htm