Japan vs OECD: Trade union density
Trade union density over time
- Japan
- OECD
How they compare
Japan currently reports 16.2 Percentage of employees against 15.16 Percentage of employees in OECD, a difference of 1.04 Percentage of employees.
That makes Japan's figure about 1.1 times OECD's.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 65 shared years of data; in 1960 it was OECD ahead.
Japan ranks 16th and OECD ranks 18th of 31 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, Japan averaged higher in 3 and OECD in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Japan | OECD | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 34.52 Percentage of employees | 36.92 Percentage of employees | 2.4 Percentage of employees | OECD |
| 1970s | 33.74 Percentage of employees | 37.75 Percentage of employees | 4.01 Percentage of employees | OECD |
| 1980s | 28.93 Percentage of employees | 31.01 Percentage of employees | 2.08 Percentage of employees | OECD |
| 1990s | 23.82 Percentage of employees | 24.11 Percentage of employees | 0.2942 Percentage of employees | OECD |
| 2000s | 19.35 Percentage of employees | 18.93 Percentage of employees | 0.4155 Percentage of employees | Japan |
| 2010s | 17.5 Percentage of employees | 16.48 Percentage of employees | 1.02 Percentage of employees | Japan |
| 2020s | 16.54 Percentage of employees | 15.51 Percentage of employees | 1.03 Percentage of employees | Japan |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher trade union density, Japan or OECD?
- Japan, at 16.2 Percentage of employees against 15.16 Percentage of employees in OECD as of 2024.
- What is the difference in trade union density between Japan and OECD?
- 1.04 Percentage of employees, with Japan ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Japan and OECD?
- 65 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2024.
- How do Japan and OECD rank globally for trade union density?
- Japan ranks 16th and OECD ranks 18th 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