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World Measure
Compare · Countries

🇩🇪 Germany vs 🇯🇵 Japan

Population difference
39,875,485
83.5M
Germany
123.4M
Japan
47.8%
Japan is larger by

35 indicators below, published by both countries and set side by side. They differ most on annual growth rate, where Japan’s figure is 16.4× higher.

Indicators compared
35
Published by both countries
Germany
by population · Europe
Japan
by population · Asia

Side by Side

Each bar is scaled against the larger of the two values, so the gap is visible rather than only stated.

Population
Germany83,491,249
Japan123,366,734
Land Areakm²
Germany349,430 km²
Japan364,569 km²
Population Density/km²
Germany238/km²
Japan342/km²
Life Expectancyyears
Germany80.8 years
Japan84.0 years
GDP per Capita
Germany$60,496
Japan$35,951
Urban Population
Germany82.1%
Japan92.3%

Bars compare magnitude only. A larger value is not a better one — several of these indicators have no better direction, and for others the lower figure is the favourable one.

Every Shared Indicator

35 indicators published for both countries. Bold marks the larger of the two values — larger is not always better. Ranks are out of the countries that report each indicator.

Every indicator published for both Germany and Japan, side by side
IndicatorGermanyJapanGermany vs Japan
Population83,491,24919th of 240123,366,73412th of 24032% lower
Annual Growth Rate−0.03%190th of 240−0.49%218th of 2400.46 points apart
Population Density/km²238/km²63rd of 240342/km²39th of 24030% lower
Land Areakm²349,430 km²64th of 240364,569 km²62nd of 2404% lower
Urban Population82.1%60th of 24092.3%30th of 24011% lower
GDP per Capita$60,49625th of 240$35,95155th of 2401.7× higher
GDP Growth+0.2%190th of 210+1.2%164th of 2105.0× lower
Life Expectancyyears80.8 years56th of 24084.0 years10th of 2404% lower
Fertility Ratebirths per woman1.36 births per woman205th of 2401.15 births per woman223rd of 24018% higher
Birth Rateper 1,0008.1 per 1,000185th of 2135.7 per 1,000207th of 21342% higher
Death Rateper 1,00012.1 per 1,00016th of 21313.3 per 1,0009th of 2139% lower
Infant Mortalityper 1,000 live births3.1 per 1,000 live births26th of 1941.8 per 1,000 live births3rd of 1941.7× higher
Unemployment Rate3.7%63rd of 1862.5%24th of 18651% higher
Inflation Rate2.2%124th of 1913.2%93rd of 19132% lower
Poverty Rate14.8%40th of 16415.7%46th of 1646% lower
Gini Index33.768th of 17032.352nd of 1704% higher
Health Spendingof GDP12.3% of GDP9th of 19210.7% of GDP20th of 19214% higher
Physiciansper 1,0004.53 per 1,00015th of 2062.65 per 1,00072nd of 2061.7× higher
Hospital Bedsper 1,0007.55 per 1,00010th of 19912.59 per 1,0006th of 19940% lower
Literacy Rate99.0%29th of 17599.0%29th of 175Equal
Education Spendingof GDP5.2% of GDP54th of 2023.3% of GDP135th of 20257% higher
School Enrollmentgross, secondary100.2% gross, secondary63rd of 207101.5% gross, secondary56th of 2071% lower
Renewable Energyof final consumption17.6% of final consumption115th of 2118.8% of final consumption153rd of 2112.0× higher
Forest Coverageof land area32.7% of land area100th of 21168.4% of land area19th of 21152% lower
Internet Penetration93.5%42nd of 21185.5%84th of 2119% higher
Mobile Subscriptionsper 100 people129.2 per 100 people61st of 212178.4 per 100 people12th of 21228% lower
Maternal Mortalityper 100,000 live births4 per 100,000 live births14th of 1933 per 100,000 live births6th of 19333% higher
Military Spendingof GDP1.89% of GDP74th of 1631.37% of GDP97th of 16338% higher
Protected Areasof land area39.2% of land area18th of 21129.7% of land area38th of 21132% higher
Median Ageyears45.5 years20th of 24049.8 years5th of 2409% lower
Mean Years of Schoolingyears13.1 years6th of 14812.8 years13th of 1482% higher
Human Development Index0.9595th of 1920.92523rd of 1924% higher
Happiness Index/ 106.88/ 1017th of 1646.13/ 1063rd of 16412% higher
CO₂ Emissionstonnes per capita6.77 tonnes per capita43rd of 2127.77 tonnes per capita36th of 21213% lower
Obesity Rate24.5%99th of 1985.2%191st of 1984.7× higher

Values are each country’s most recent published observation, so the two sides of a row may be from different years — the country pages show the year for each. Bold marks the larger of the two, which is not always the better one.

Population, 1950–2100

Observed to 2024, then the UN medium-variant projection.

GermanyJapan
020M40M60M80M100M120M19501971199320142036205720792100projected →
Source: UN World Population Prospects 2024. Values from 2025 onward are projections, not observations.
Germany and Japan population, 1950 to 2100
SeriesYearValue
Germany195069.8M
Germany197578.7M
Germany200081.8M
Germany202584.1M
Germany205078.3M
Germany207572.8M
Germany210070.9M
Japan195086.4M
Japan1975113.3M
Japan2000127M
Japan2025123.1M
Japan2050105.1M
Japan207587.4M
Japan210076.8M

Reading This Comparison

Size is not the same as rate

Totals and per-capita measures answer different questions. A country can have a far larger economy and a far lower GDP per capita at the same time — both facts are in the table.

Mind the vintages

Each value is the latest available for that country, which is not always the same year on both sides. For indicators that move slowly this rarely matters; for inflation or GDP growth it can.

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