Japan’s coastline is 12 times as long as South Korea’s

Japan: 29,751 km (2026 edition) · South Korea: 2,413 km (2026 edition)

Japan’s highest peak towers 1,826 m above South Korea’s

Japan: 3,776 m (2026 edition) · South Korea: 1,950 m (2026 edition)

Farmland covers 16% of South Korea, versus 13% of Japan

Japan: 12.6% (2024) · South Korea: 16% (2024)

Japan has 2.4 times as many people as South Korea

Japan: 123 million (2025) · South Korea: 51.7 million (2025)

South Korea is 56% more densely populated than Japan

Japan: 338 per km² (2025) · South Korea: 530 per km² (2025)

The typical person in Japan is 4.5 years older than in South Korea

Japan: 49 years (2023) · South Korea: 44.5 years (2023)

Women in Japan have 0.4 more children on average than in South Korea

Japan: 1.15 children per woman (2024) · South Korea: 0.75 children per woman (2024)

30% of people in Japan are 65 or older, versus 20% in South Korea

Japan: 30% (2025) · South Korea: 20.3% (2025)

Japan hosts 4 times as many refugees per resident as South Korea

Japan: 0.3 per 1,000 (2025) · South Korea: 0.1 per 1,000 (2025)

Japan has produced 2.5 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, South Korea 0.6

Japan: 2.5 (2026) · South Korea: 0.6 (2026)

Japan and South Korea are practically level

Japan: 1 (2026) · South Korea: 1 (2026)

Japan’s economy is 2.4 times the size of South Korea’s

Japan: $4.44 trillion (2025) · South Korea: $1.87 trillion (2025)

South Korea produces 14% more per person than Japan

Japan: Int$55,422 (2025) · South Korea: Int$63,125 (2025)

Income is more unequally shared in South Korea than in Japan (Gini 0.6 points higher)

Japan: 32.3 (2020) · South Korea: 32.9 (2021)

1.2% of people in Japan live on less than $3 a day, versus 0.1% in South Korea

Japan: 1.2% (2020) · South Korea: 0.1% (2021)

South Korea and Japan are practically level

Japan: 2.5% (2025) · South Korea: 2.7% (2025)

South Korea spends 2.6% of its GDP on the military, Japan 1.4%

Japan: 1.4% (2025) · South Korea: 2.6% (2025)

Japan: no data · South Korea: 13.3% (2024)

Japan’s price level (US = 100) is 1.1× South Korea’s

Japan: 65% (2025) · South Korea: 57% (2025)

Japan spends 16% more on health per person than South Korea

Japan: $3,638 (2023) · South Korea: $3,137 (2024)

A baby in South Korea is 28% more likely to die before turning one than in Japan

Japan: 1.8 per 1,000 (2024) · South Korea: 2.3 per 1,000 (2024)

Japan has 1% more doctors per person than South Korea

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

South Korea has 2% more hospital beds per person than Japan

Japan: 12.6 per 1,000 (2022) · South Korea: 12.8 per 1,000 (2022)

The suicide rate in South Korea is 62% higher than in Japan

Japan: 14.4 per 100k (2023) · South Korea: 23.4 per 100k (2023)

7.5% of adults in South Korea are obese, versus 5.2% in Japan

Japan: 5.2% (2024) · South Korea: 7.5% (2024)

19% of adults in South Korea smoke, versus 18% in Japan

Japan: 17.5% (2024) · South Korea: 18.6% (2024)

People in Japan rate their lives 0.09 points higher than in South Korea

Japan: 6.13 (2025) · South Korea: 6.04 (2025)

Adults in South Korea drink 32% more alcohol than in Japan

Japan: 6.3 litres (2023) · South Korea: 8.3 litres (2023)

South Korea has 40% more meat per person than Japan

Japan: 59.9 kg (2022) · South Korea: 84 kg (2023)

South Korea has 760 kcal more food per person per day than Japan

Japan: 2,670 kcal (2022) · South Korea: 3,430 kcal (2023)

Workers in South Korea put in 256 more hours a year than in Japan

Japan: 1,654 hours (2023) · South Korea: 1,910 hours (2023)

South Korea and Japan are practically level

Japan: 12.7 years (2023) · South Korea: 12.7 years (2023)

South Korea welcomed 6% more tourists per resident than Japan (2019)

Japan: 0.3 (2024) · South Korea: 0.32 (2024)

Japan has 10 more World Heritage sites than South Korea (27 against 17)

Japan: 27 (2026) · South Korea: 17 (2026)

Japan has won 642 Olympic medals, South Korea 409

Japan: 642 (2026 edition) · South Korea: 409 (2026 edition)

98% of people in South Korea are online, versus 86% in Japan

Japan: 86% (2024) · South Korea: 98% (2024)

Home internet in Japan is 8% faster than in South Korea

Japan: 322 Mbps (2026) · South Korea: 298 Mbps (2026)

Japan and South Korea are practically level

Japan: 100% (2024) · South Korea: 100% (2024)

92% of people in Japan live in cities, versus 81% in South Korea

Japan: 92% (2025) · South Korea: 81% (2025)

Japan has 178 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, South Korea 173

Japan: 178 (2023) · South Korea: 173 (2024)

Japan’s railway network is 4.7 times as long as South Korea’s

Japan: 20,087 km (2011) · South Korea: 4,309 km (2021)

Airlines from South Korea fly 51% more passengers per resident than those from Japan

Japan: 0.98 (2023) · South Korea: 1.48 (2023)

Forest covers 68% of Japan, but only 64% of South Korea

Japan: 68.3% (2024) · South Korea: 64.4% (2024)

The average person in South Korea emits 45% more CO₂ than someone in Japan

Japan: 7.8 t (2024) · South Korea: 11.3 t (2024)

24% of Japan’s electricity is renewable, versus 10% in South Korea

Japan: 23.6% (2025) · South Korea: 10.4% (2025)

The air in South Korea carries 2 times as much fine dust as in Japan

Japan: 10.5 µg/m³ (2024) · South Korea: 21 µg/m³ (2024)

You are 2.1 times as likely to be murdered in South Korea as in Japan

Japan: 0.2 per 100k (2023) · South Korea: 0.5 per 100k (2023)

Roads in South Korea are 2.3 times as deadly as in Japan

Japan: 3.8 per 100k (2023) · South Korea: 8.7 per 100k (2023)

South Korea is on average 0.4 °C warmer than Japan

Japan: 12.8°C (2016–2025 avg) · South Korea: 13.2°C (2016–2025 avg)

Japan gets 44% more rain than South Korea

Japan: 1,824 mm (2016–2025 avg) · South Korea: 1,265 mm (2016–2025 avg)