Japan’s coastline is 11 times as long as South Africa’s

Japan: 29,751 km (2026 edition) · South Africa: 2,798 km (2026 edition)

Japan’s highest peak towers 326 m above South Africa’s

Japan: 3,776 m (2026 edition) · South Africa: 3,450 m (2026 edition)

Farmland covers 79% of South Africa, versus 13% of Japan

Japan: 12.6% (2024) · South Africa: 79.4% (2024)

Japan has 91% more people than South Africa

Japan: 123 million (2025) · South Africa: 64.7 million (2025)

Japan is 6.3 times as densely populated as South Africa

Japan: 338 per km² (2025) · South Africa: 53 per km² (2025)

The typical person in Japan is 21 years older than in South Africa

Japan: 49 years (2023) · South Africa: 28.2 years (2023)

Women in South Africa have 1.1 more children on average than in Japan

Japan: 1.15 children per woman (2024) · South Africa: 2.21 children per woman (2024)

30% of people in Japan are 65 or older, versus 6.9% in South Africa

Japan: 30% (2025) · South Africa: 6.9% (2025)

South Africa hosts 2.5 times as many refugees per resident as Japan

Japan: 0.3 per 1,000 (2025) · South Africa: 0.9 per 1,000 (2025)

Japan has produced 2.5 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, South Africa 1.5

Japan: 2.5 (2026) · South Africa: 1.5 (2026)

South Africa has 11 official languages, Japan 1

Japan: 1 (2026) · South Africa: 11 (2026)

Japan’s economy is 10 times the size of South Africa’s

Japan: $4.44 trillion (2025) · South Africa: $427 billion (2025)

Japan produces 3.5 times as much per person as South Africa

Japan: Int$55,422 (2025) · South Africa: Int$15,906 (2025)

Income is more unequally shared in South Africa than in Japan (Gini 21.8 points higher)

Japan: 32.3 (2020) · South Africa: 54.1 (2022)

17% of people in South Africa live on less than $3 a day, versus 1.2% in Japan

Japan: 1.2% (2020) · South Africa: 17.4% (2022)

Unemployment is 32% in South Africa, versus 2.5% in Japan

Japan: 2.5% (2025) · South Africa: 32.4% (2025)

Japan spends 1.4% of its GDP on the military, South Africa 0.7%

Japan: 1.4% (2025) · South Africa: 0.7% (2025)

Japan: no data · South Africa: 25.9% (2024)

Japan’s price level (US = 100) is 1.6× South Africa’s

Japan: 65% (2025) · South Africa: 41% (2025)

Japan spends 6.8 times as much on health per person as South Africa

Japan: $3,638 (2023) · South Africa: $537 (2023)

A baby in South Africa is 13 times as likely to die before turning one as in Japan

Japan: 1.8 per 1,000 (2024) · South Africa: 24.2 per 1,000 (2024)

Japan has 3.3 times as many doctors per person as South Africa

Japan: 2.6 per 1,000 (2022) · South Africa: 0.8 per 1,000 (2022)

Japan: 12.6 per 1,000 (2022) · South Africa: no data

The suicide rate in South Africa is 13% higher than in Japan

Japan: 14.4 per 100k (2023) · South Africa: 16.2 per 100k (2023)

31% of adults in South Africa are obese, versus 5.2% in Japan

Japan: 5.2% (2024) · South Africa: 31.3% (2024)

24% of adults in South Africa smoke, versus 18% in Japan

Japan: 17.5% (2024) · South Africa: 23.7% (2024)

People in Japan rate their lives 1.12 points higher than in South Africa

Japan: 6.13 (2025) · South Africa: 5.01 (2025)

Adults in South Africa drink 38% more alcohol than in Japan

Japan: 6.3 litres (2023) · South Africa: 8.6 litres (2023)

Japan has 3% more meat per person than South Africa

Japan: 59.9 kg (2022) · South Africa: 58.3 kg (2023)

South Africa has 24 kcal more food per person per day than Japan

Japan: 2,670 kcal (2022) · South Africa: 2,694 kcal (2023)

Workers in South Africa put in 528 more hours a year than in Japan

Japan: 1,654 hours (2023) · South Africa: 2,181 hours (2023)

Adults in Japan went to school 1.1 years longer than in South Africa

Japan: 12.7 years (2023) · South Africa: 11.6 years (2023)

Japan welcomed 2.1 times as many tourists per resident as South Africa (2019)

Japan: 0.3 (2024) · South Africa: 0.14 (2024)

Japan has 15 more World Heritage sites than South Africa (27 against 12)

Japan: 27 (2026) · South Africa: 12 (2026)

Japan has won 642 Olympic medals, South Africa 95

Japan: 642 (2026 edition) · South Africa: 95 (2026 edition)

86% of people in Japan are online, versus 78% in South Africa

Japan: 86% (2024) · South Africa: 78% (2024)

Home internet in Japan is 4.1 times as fast as in South Africa

Japan: 322 Mbps (2026) · South Africa: 78 Mbps (2026)

100% of people in Japan have electricity, versus 90% in South Africa

Japan: 100% (2024) · South Africa: 90.2% (2024)

92% of people in Japan live in cities, versus 64% in South Africa

Japan: 92% (2025) · South Africa: 64% (2025)

South Africa has 179 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Japan 178

Japan: 178 (2023) · South Africa: 179 (2024)

South Africa’s railway network is 4% longer than Japan’s

Japan: 20,087 km (2011) · South Africa: 20,953 km (2021)

Airlines from Japan fly 4.1 times as many passengers per resident as those from South Africa

Japan: 0.98 (2023) · South Africa: 0.24 (2023)

Forest covers 68% of Japan, but only 19% of South Africa

Japan: 68.3% (2024) · South Africa: 18.8% (2024)

The average person in Japan emits 13% more CO₂ than someone in South Africa

Japan: 7.8 t (2024) · South Africa: 6.9 t (2024)

24% of Japan’s electricity is renewable, versus 14% in South Africa

Japan: 23.6% (2025) · South Africa: 13.6% (2025)

The air in South Africa carries 2.3 times as much fine dust as in Japan

Japan: 10.5 µg/m³ (2024) · South Africa: 24.4 µg/m³ (2024)

You are 191 times as likely to be murdered in South Africa as in Japan

Japan: 0.2 per 100k (2023) · South Africa: 43.7 per 100k (2022)

Roads in South Africa are 8.7 times as deadly as in Japan

Japan: 3.8 per 100k (2023) · South Africa: 33.1 per 100k (2023)

South Africa is on average 5.7 °C warmer than Japan

Japan: 12.8°C (2016–2025 avg) · South Africa: 18.4°C (2016–2025 avg)

Japan gets 3.6 times as much rain as South Africa

Japan: 1,824 mm (2016–2025 avg) · South Africa: 511 mm (2016–2025 avg)