What's the population of Japan?
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Capital: Tokyo · Continent: Asia
Japan is a country in Asia, with its capital at Tokyo. Population stands at about 123.4M, spread across 377,930 km², and GDP per capita is around $35,951. About 92.3% of the population lives in urban areas, and one of its leading industries is Automotive.
Population
123.4M
Area
377,930 km²
GDP per capita
$35,951
Population
Area
Demographics
Immigrants
Share of population who are foreign citizens
2.8%
3.4M people · 2024
- Foreign citizens 2.8%
- Citizens 97.2%
Citizenship
- China23.8% · 809.9K
- Vietnam17.3% · 589.9K
- South Korea11.6% · 393.9K
- Philippines9.4% · 319.8K
- Brazil6.1% · 207.2K
- Other countries31.9% · 1.1M
- Unknown0.01% · 201
- Japan's census doesn't record place of birth, so the UN counts foreign citizens instead. Naturalized citizens are left out, and foreign nationals born in Japan are included.
- "Unknown" is the number the UN could not assign to a country of origin.
Economy
- Nominal GDP
- $4,435,162,999,977
- Currency
- JPY
Top industries
- Automotive
- Electronics
- Technology
- Manufacturing
- Steel
Monthly temperature & rainfall
Monthly average high temperature
- Japan
Monthly precipitation
- Japan
Data table
| Month | High °C | Low °C | Precip mm |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 10 | 1.2 | 34 |
| Feb | 10.7 | 1.8 | 11 |
| Mar | 14.3 | 5.6 | 159 |
| Apr | 19.6 | 11.5 | 142 |
| May | 22.7 | 15.5 | 255 |
| Jun | 28.7 | 21.5 | 134 |
| Jul | 33 | 25 | 87 |
| Aug | 34.6 | 26.5 | 47 |
| Sep | 30.4 | 22.9 | 236 |
| Oct | 21.4 | 15.4 | 153 |
| Nov | 16.3 | 8.2 | 22 |
| Dec | 12.1 | 3.5 | 42 |
Best time to visit Japan tends to be around August, when average highs sit near 34.6°C.
Religion
- Folk religion 48%
- Buddhism 34%
- Christianity 1.5%
- Unaffiliated 16.5%
Language
- Official language(s)
- ja
- English proficiency
- Low
Travel essentials
- Time zone
- Asia/Tokyo
- Electricity
- 100V · A/B
- Driving side
- Left
- Calling code
- +81
- Emergency number
- 110
Compare Japan with
Reports featuring Japan
- Why 'The Netherlands Is Larger Than Switzerland' Is True: Scoring a Game Show's Proposition Race With Real DataIn the Korean survival show The Community 2, contestants collect word cards to build true comparative sentences. Run the same rules across 24 countries and 13 metrics and only 8,742 of the 70,860 possible sentences — 12.3% — turn out to be true.
- The Country Most Like South Korea on Paper Ranks Last on Income: The Two Koreas, ComparedOf the 53 countries WhatsThePop tracks, only North Korea matches South Korea on climate, plugs, driving side, time zone, and language. Yet income per person is $36,227 in the South and an estimated $1,387 in the North — a 26-fold gap. And the North is actually 1.2 times larger.
- 3.5% of People in South Korea Were Born Abroad — In 1990 It Was 0.04%In 1990, 18,499 people living in South Korea had been born abroad — 0.04% of the population. In 2024 it is 1.81 million, or 3.5%, just under the world average of 3.7%. Sort the same data by head count instead of share and an entirely different list of countries appears.
- South Korea's Fertility Rate Is 0.72 — By 2050 It Will Be Older Than JapanSouth Korea's 2023 fertility rate was 0.72 births per woman — the lowest of the 53 countries this site tracks. UN population projections put its 65-and-over share at 39.7% by 2050, overtaking Japan (37.5%), the country usually cited as the world's oldest.
- Why South Korea Ranks Among the World's Densest Countries: SeoulAmong the 53 countries WhatsThePop tracks, South Korea ranks 2nd in population density at 516 people per km². The real driver is Seoul alone — its density of 15,828/km² almost exactly matches Tokyo's 23 wards, and trails cities like Manila.
- 13 Plug Standards, 53 Countries — Only 17 Match South Korea's ExactlyWe checked the plug type and voltage for all 53 countries WhatsThePop tracks. There are 13 distinct standards — only 17 match South Korea's C/F, 220V setup exactly, and 16 need a completely different adapter.
- Same Income, a 17-Rank Gap: Where South Korea and Japan Actually DivergeSouth Korea's GDP per capita ($36,227) is actually $276 higher than Japan's ($35,951). Yet on livability rankings, Japan sits 2nd out of 87 countries while South Korea sits 19th. Here's what the income numbers don't explain.
- 20 Countries Bigger Than South Korea — And Only 2 SmallerOf the 22 countries WhatsThePop tracks, only the Netherlands and Switzerland are smaller than South Korea (100,210 km²). Here's how the other 20 stack up, grouped by scale.
Sources & data
- population: World Bank Open Data (2026-08)
- area: world-countries (Wikidata-derived) (2026-08)
- gdp_nominal_usd: World Bank Open Data (2026-08)
- gdp_per_capita_usd: World Bank Open Data (2026-08)
- religions: Manual curation (Pew Research) (2026-08)
- industries: Manual curation (CIA World Factbook) (2026-08)
- climate: Open-Meteo Historical Weather API (2026-08)
- happiness_index: World Happiness Report 2025 (2026-07)
- livability_rank: U.S. News & World Report — Best Countries 2024 (2026-07)
- migrants: UN DESA International Migrant Stock 2024 (2026-09)
FAQ
- What is the population of Japan?
- Japan — 123.4M (2025)
- How big is Japan?
- 377,930 km²
- What is the capital of Japan?
- Tokyo
- What is the GDP per capita of Japan?
- $35,951
- What language is spoken in Japan?
- ja