🇯🇵 Japan vs 🇺🇸 United States
35 indicators below, published by both countries and set side by side. They differ most on land area, where United States’s figure is 25.1× higher.
Side by Side
Each bar is scaled against the larger of the two values, so the gap is visible rather than only stated.
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.
| Indicator | Japan | United States | Japan vs United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 123,366,73412th of 240 | 341,784,8573rd of 240 | 2.8× lower |
| Annual Growth Rate | −0.49%218th of 240 | +0.52%143rd of 240 | 1.01 points apart |
| Population Density/km² | 342/km²39th of 240 | 37/km²180th of 240 | 9.3× higher |
| Land Areakm² | 364,569 km²62nd of 240 | 9,147,420 km²3rd of 240 | 8,782,851 km² apart |
| Urban Population | 92.3%30th of 240 | 80.2%65th of 240 | 15% higher |
| GDP per Capita | $35,95155th of 240 | $90,02712th of 240 | 2.5× lower |
| GDP Growth | +1.2%164th of 210 | +2.2%136th of 210 | 45% lower |
| Life Expectancyyears | 84.0 years10th of 240 | 78.9 years75th of 240 | 7% higher |
| Fertility Ratebirths per woman | 1.15 births per woman223rd of 240 | 1.63 births per woman148th of 240 | 29% lower |
| Birth Rateper 1,000 | 5.7 per 1,000207th of 213 | 10.6 per 1,000143rd of 213 | 46% lower |
| Death Rateper 1,000 | 13.3 per 1,0009th of 213 | 9.0 per 1,00060th of 213 | 48% higher |
| Infant Mortalityper 1,000 live births | 1.8 per 1,000 live births3rd of 194 | 5.5 per 1,000 live births53rd of 194 | 3.1× lower |
| Unemployment Rate | 2.5%24th of 186 | 4.2%70th of 186 | 42% lower |
| Inflation Rate | 3.2%93rd of 191 | 3.0%96th of 191 | 8% higher |
| Poverty Rate | 15.7%46th of 164 | 11.4%24th of 164 | 38% higher |
| Gini Index | 32.352nd of 170 | 41.8135th of 170 | 23% lower |
| Health Spendingof GDP | 10.7% of GDP20th of 192 | 16.7% of GDP3rd of 192 | 36% lower |
| Physiciansper 1,000 | 2.65 per 1,00072nd of 206 | 3.68 per 1,00039th of 206 | 28% lower |
| Hospital Bedsper 1,000 | 12.59 per 1,0006th of 199 | 2.68 per 1,00084th of 199 | 4.7× higher |
| Literacy Rate | 99.0%29th of 175 | 99.0%29th of 175 | Equal |
| Education Spendingof GDP | 3.3% of GDP135th of 202 | 5.4% of GDP43rd of 202 | 38% lower |
| School Enrollmentgross, secondary | 101.5% gross, secondary56th of 207 | 97.5% gross, secondary74th of 207 | 4% higher |
| Renewable Energyof final consumption | 8.8% of final consumption153rd of 211 | 10.9% of final consumption142nd of 211 | 19% lower |
| Forest Coverageof land area | 68.4% of land area19th of 211 | 33.9% of land area95th of 211 | 2.0× higher |
| Internet Penetration | 85.5%84th of 211 | 94.7%31st of 211 | 10% lower |
| Mobile Subscriptionsper 100 people | 178.4 per 100 people12th of 212 | 113.2 per 100 people110th of 212 | 58% higher |
| Maternal Mortalityper 100,000 live births | 3 per 100,000 live births6th of 193 | 17 per 100,000 live births65th of 193 | 5.7× lower |
| Military Spendingof GDP | 1.37% of GDP97th of 163 | 3.42% of GDP24th of 163 | 60% lower |
| Protected Areasof land area | 29.7% of land area38th of 211 | 12.9% of land area140th of 211 | 2.3× higher |
| Median Ageyears | 49.8 years5th of 240 | 38.5 years79th of 240 | 29% higher |
| Mean Years of Schoolingyears | 12.8 years13th of 148 | 13.3 years4th of 148 | 4% lower |
| Human Development Index | 0.92523rd of 192 | 0.93817th of 192 | 1% lower |
| Happiness Index/ 10 | 6.13/ 1063rd of 164 | 6.82/ 1023rd of 164 | 10% lower |
| CO₂ Emissionstonnes per capita | 7.77 tonnes per capita36th of 212 | 14.20 tonnes per capita12th of 212 | 45% lower |
| Obesity Rate | 5.2%191st of 198 | 41.8%18th of 198 | 8.1× lower |
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.
| Series | Year | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Japan | 1950 | 86.4M |
| Japan | 1975 | 113.3M |
| Japan | 2000 | 127M |
| Japan | 2025 | 123.1M |
| Japan | 2050 | 105.1M |
| Japan | 2075 | 87.4M |
| Japan | 2100 | 76.8M |
| United States | 1950 | 154.2M |
| United States | 1975 | 219.1M |
| United States | 2000 | 281.5M |
| United States | 2025 | 347.3M |
| United States | 2050 | 380.8M |
| United States | 2075 | 402.9M |
| United States | 2100 | 421.3M |
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.