Japan vs United Kingdom: Trade union density
Trade union density over time
- Japan
- United Kingdom
How they compare
United Kingdom currently reports 22 Percentage of employees against 16.2 Percentage of employees in Japan, a difference of 5.8 Percentage of employees.
That makes United Kingdom's figure about 1.4 times Japan's.
Across all 65 years both countries report, United Kingdom has been ahead every year.
Japan ranks 16th and United Kingdom ranks 13th of 31 countries.
United Kingdom has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Japan | United Kingdom | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 34.52 Percentage of employees | 39.41 Percentage of employees | 4.89 Percentage of employees | United Kingdom |
| 1970s | 33.74 Percentage of employees | 46.51 Percentage of employees | 12.77 Percentage of employees | United Kingdom |
| 1980s | 28.93 Percentage of employees | 46.89 Percentage of employees | 17.96 Percentage of employees | United Kingdom |
| 1990s | 23.82 Percentage of employees | 34.55 Percentage of employees | 10.73 Percentage of employees | United Kingdom |
| 2000s | 19.35 Percentage of employees | 28.58 Percentage of employees | 9.23 Percentage of employees | United Kingdom |
| 2010s | 17.5 Percentage of employees | 24.78 Percentage of employees | 7.28 Percentage of employees | United Kingdom |
| 2020s | 16.54 Percentage of employees | 22.76 Percentage of employees | 6.22 Percentage of employees | United Kingdom |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher trade union density, Japan or United Kingdom?
- United Kingdom, at 22 Percentage of employees against 16.2 Percentage of employees in Japan as of 2024.
- What is the difference in trade union density between Japan and United Kingdom?
- 5.8 Percentage of employees, with United Kingdom ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Japan and United Kingdom?
- 65 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2024.
- How do Japan and United Kingdom rank globally for trade union density?
- Japan ranks 16th and United Kingdom ranks 13th 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