Japan’s coastline is 6.4 times as long as Malaysia’s

Japan: 29,751 km (2026 edition) · Malaysia: 4,675 km (2026 edition)

Malaysia’s highest peak towers 319 m above Japan’s

Japan: 3,776 m (2026 edition) · Malaysia: 4,095 m (2026 edition)

Farmland covers 25% of Malaysia, versus 13% of Japan

Japan: 12.6% (2024) · Malaysia: 24.8% (2024)

Japan has 3.4 times as many people as Malaysia

Japan: 123 million (2025) · Malaysia: 36 million (2025)

Japan is 3.1 times as densely populated as Malaysia

Japan: 338 per km² (2025) · Malaysia: 110 per km² (2025)

The typical person in Japan is 19 years older than in Malaysia

Japan: 49 years (2023) · Malaysia: 30.1 years (2023)

Women in Malaysia have 0.4 more children on average than in Japan

Japan: 1.15 children per woman (2024) · Malaysia: 1.54 children per woman (2024)

30% of people in Japan are 65 or older, versus 8.0% in Malaysia

Japan: 30% (2025) · Malaysia: 8% (2025)

Malaysia hosts 12 times as many refugees per resident as Japan

Japan: 0.3 per 1,000 (2025) · Malaysia: 4.2 per 1,000 (2025)

Japan has produced 2.5 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, Malaysia none

Japan: 2.5 (2026) · Malaysia: 0 (2026)

Malaysia has 2 official languages, Japan 1

Japan: 1 (2026) · Malaysia: 2 (2026)

Japan’s economy is 9.4 times the size of Malaysia’s

Japan: $4.44 trillion (2025) · Malaysia: $472 billion (2025)

Japan produces 34% more per person than Malaysia

Japan: Int$55,422 (2025) · Malaysia: Int$41,498 (2025)

Income is more unequally shared in Malaysia than in Japan (Gini 8.4 points higher)

Japan: 32.3 (2020) · Malaysia: 40.7 (2021)

1.2% of people in Japan live on less than $3 a day, versus 0% in Malaysia

Japan: 1.2% (2020) · Malaysia: 0% (2021)

Unemployment is 3.8% in Malaysia, versus 2.5% in Japan

Japan: 2.5% (2025) · Malaysia: 3.8% (2025)

Japan and Malaysia are practically level

Japan: 1.4% (2025) · Malaysia: 1% (2025)

Japan: no data · Malaysia: 12.4% (2024)

Japan’s price level (US = 100) is 2.1× Malaysia’s

Japan: 65% (2025) · Malaysia: 32% (2025)

Japan spends 8.1 times as much on health per person as Malaysia

Japan: $3,638 (2023) · Malaysia: $450 (2023)

A baby in Malaysia is 3.9 times as likely to die before turning one as in Japan

Japan: 1.8 per 1,000 (2024) · Malaysia: 7 per 1,000 (2024)

Japan has 13% more doctors per person than Malaysia

Japan: 2.6 per 1,000 (2022) · Malaysia: 2.3 per 1,000 (2023)

Japan has 6.4 times as many hospital beds per person as Malaysia

Japan: 12.6 per 1,000 (2022) · Malaysia: 2 per 1,000 (2023)

The suicide rate in Japan is 2.9 times that in Malaysia

Japan: 14.4 per 100k (2023) · Malaysia: 5 per 100k (2023)

24% of adults in Malaysia are obese, versus 5.2% in Japan

Japan: 5.2% (2024) · Malaysia: 23.6% (2024)

18% of adults in Japan smoke, versus 17% in Malaysia

Japan: 17.5% (2024) · Malaysia: 16.9% (2024)

People in Japan rate their lives 0.13 points higher than in Malaysia

Japan: 6.13 (2025) · Malaysia: 6.01 (2025)

Adults in Japan drink 7.7 times as much alcohol as in Malaysia

Japan: 6.3 litres (2023) · Malaysia: 0.8 litres (2023)

Malaysia has 15% more meat per person than Japan

Japan: 59.9 kg (2022) · Malaysia: 69.1 kg (2023)

Malaysia has 256 kcal more food per person per day than Japan

Japan: 2,670 kcal (2022) · Malaysia: 2,927 kcal (2023)

Workers in Malaysia put in 654 more hours a year than in Japan

Japan: 1,654 hours (2023) · Malaysia: 2,308 hours (2023)

Adults in Japan went to school 1.6 years longer than in Malaysia

Japan: 12.7 years (2023) · Malaysia: 11.1 years (2023)

Japan welcomed 2% more tourists per resident than Malaysia (2019)

Japan: 0.3 (2024) · Malaysia: 0.29 (2022)

Japan has 21 more World Heritage sites than Malaysia (27 against 6)

Japan: 27 (2026) · Malaysia: 6 (2026)

Japan has won 642 Olympic medals, Malaysia 15

Japan: 642 (2026 edition) · Malaysia: 15 (2026 edition)

98% of people in Malaysia are online, versus 86% in Japan

Japan: 86% (2024) · Malaysia: 98% (2024)

Home internet in Japan is 20% faster than in Malaysia

Japan: 322 Mbps (2026) · Malaysia: 269 Mbps (2026)

Japan and Malaysia are practically level

Japan: 100% (2024) · Malaysia: 100% (2024)

92% of people in Japan live in cities, versus 77% in Malaysia

Japan: 92% (2025) · Malaysia: 77% (2025)

Japan has 178 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Malaysia 140

Japan: 178 (2023) · Malaysia: 140 (2024)

Japan’s railway network is 12 times as long as Malaysia’s

Japan: 20,087 km (2011) · Malaysia: 1,655 km (2021)

Airlines from Malaysia fly 33% more passengers per resident than those from Japan

Japan: 0.98 (2023) · Malaysia: 1.3 (2023)

Forest covers 68% of Japan, but only 58% of Malaysia

Japan: 68.3% (2024) · Malaysia: 57.7% (2024)

The average person in Malaysia emits 5% more CO₂ than someone in Japan

Japan: 7.8 t (2024) · Malaysia: 8.2 t (2024)

24% of Japan’s electricity is renewable, versus 21% in Malaysia

Japan: 23.6% (2025) · Malaysia: 20.7% (2025)

The air in Malaysia carries 46% more fine dust than in Japan

Japan: 10.5 µg/m³ (2024) · Malaysia: 15.3 µg/m³ (2024)

You are 3.2 times as likely to be murdered in Malaysia as in Japan

Japan: 0.2 per 100k (2023) · Malaysia: 0.7 per 100k (2023)

Roads in Malaysia are 4.3 times as deadly as in Japan

Japan: 3.8 per 100k (2023) · Malaysia: 16.2 per 100k (2023)

Malaysia is on average 13.2 °C warmer than Japan

Japan: 12.8°C (2016–2025 avg) · Malaysia: 26°C (2016–2025 avg)

Malaysia gets 69% more rain than Japan

Japan: 1,824 mm (2016–2025 avg) · Malaysia: 3,081 mm (2016–2025 avg)