Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
Japan is 56% bigger than Uganda
Japan: 377,975 km² (2024) · Uganda: 241,551 km² (2024)
How much coast is there?
Japan: 29,751 km (2026 edition) · Uganda: 0 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Uganda’s highest peak towers 1,334 m above Japan’s
Japan: 3,776 m (2026 edition) · Uganda: 5,110 m (2026 edition)
How much of the land is farmed?
Farmland covers 80% of Uganda, versus 13% of Japan
Japan: 12.6% (2024) · Uganda: 80.3% (2024)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Japan has 2.4 times as many people as Uganda
Japan: 123 million (2025) · Uganda: 51.4 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
Japan is 32% more densely populated than Uganda
Japan: 338 per km² (2025) · Uganda: 256 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in Japan are 3.3 cm taller than in Uganda
Japan: 172.1 cm (2019) · Uganda: 168.7 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Uganda and Japan are practically level
Japan: 158.5 cm (2019) · Uganda: 158.5 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in Japan is 32 years older than in Uganda
Japan: 49 years (2023) · Uganda: 16.5 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Uganda have 3.0 more children on average than in Japan
Japan: 1.15 children per woman (2024) · Uganda: 4.17 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
30% of people in Japan are 65 or older, versus 2.2% in Uganda
Japan: 30% (2025) · Uganda: 2.2% (2025)
How many refugees does it host?
Uganda hosts 110 times as many refugees per resident as Japan
Japan: 0.3 per 1,000 (2025) · Uganda: 37.7 per 1,000 (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
Japan has produced 2.5 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, Uganda none
Japan: 2.5 (2026) · Uganda: 0 (2026)
How many official languages?
Uganda has 2 official languages, Japan 1
Japan: 1 (2026) · Uganda: 2 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
Japan’s economy is 72 times the size of Uganda’s
Japan: $4.44 trillion (2025) · Uganda: $62 billion (2025)
How much is produced per person?
Japan produces 16 times as much per person as Uganda
Japan: Int$55,422 (2025) · Uganda: Int$3,488 (2025)
How evenly is income shared?
Income is more unequally shared in Uganda than in Japan (Gini 5.9 points higher)
Japan: 32.3 (2020) · Uganda: 38.2 (2023)
How many live on less than $3 a day?
54% of people in Uganda live on less than $3 a day, versus 1.2% in Japan
Japan: 1.2% (2020) · Uganda: 54.4% (2023)
How many people are looking for work?
Uganda and Japan are practically level
Japan: 2.5% (2025) · Uganda: 2.7% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
Uganda spends 2.0% of its GDP on the military, Japan 1.4%
Japan: 1.4% (2025) · Uganda: 2% (2025)
How much does the central government collect in tax?
Japan: no data · Uganda: 12.6% (2024)
How expensive is it?
Japan’s price level (US = 100) is 1.9× Uganda’s
Japan: 65% (2025) · Uganda: 35% (2025)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
Japan spends 80 times as much on health per person as Uganda
Japan: $3,638 (2023) · Uganda: $45 (2023)
How long do people live?
People in Japan live 16 years longer than in Uganda
Japan: 84 years (2024) · Uganda: 68.5 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in Uganda is 20 times as likely to die before turning one as in Japan
Japan: 1.8 per 1,000 (2024) · Uganda: 35.9 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
Japan has 14 times as many doctors per person as Uganda
Japan: 2.6 per 1,000 (2022) · Uganda: 0.2 per 1,000 (2022)
How many hospital beds are there?
Japan: 12.6 per 1,000 (2022) · Uganda: no data
How common is suicide?
The suicide rate in Uganda is 19% higher than in Japan
Japan: 14.4 per 100k (2023) · Uganda: 17.2 per 100k (2023)
How common is obesity?
8.2% of adults in Uganda are obese, versus 5.2% in Japan
Japan: 5.2% (2024) · Uganda: 8.2% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
18% of adults in Japan smoke, versus 7.5% in Uganda
Japan: 17.5% (2024) · Uganda: 7.5% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
People in Japan rate their lives 1.64 points higher than in Uganda
Japan: 6.13 (2025) · Uganda: 4.49 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Adults in Japan drink 55% more alcohol than in Uganda
Japan: 6.3 litres (2023) · Uganda: 4 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
Japan has 5.5 times as much meat per person as Uganda
Japan: 59.9 kg (2022) · Uganda: 10.9 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
Japan has 292 kcal more food per person per day than Uganda
Japan: 2,670 kcal (2022) · Uganda: 2,378 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Workers in Uganda put in 474 more hours a year than in Japan
Japan: 1,654 hours (2023) · Uganda: 2,128 hours (2023)
How long do people go to school?
Adults in Japan went to school 6.4 years longer than in Uganda
Japan: 12.7 years (2023) · Uganda: 6.3 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
Japan welcomed 8.3 times as many tourists per resident as Uganda (2019)
Japan: 0.3 (2024) · Uganda: 0.04 (2019)
How many World Heritage sites?
Japan has 24 more World Heritage sites than Uganda (27 against 3)
Japan: 27 (2026) · Uganda: 3 (2026)
How many Olympic medals has it won?
Japan has won 642 Olympic medals, Uganda 13
Japan: 642 (2026 edition) · Uganda: 13 (2026 edition)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
86% of people in Japan are online, versus 8.9% in Uganda
Japan: 86% (2024) · Uganda: 9% (2024)
How fast is home internet?
Home internet in Japan is 6.1 times as fast as in Uganda
Japan: 322 Mbps (2026) · Uganda: 53 Mbps (2026)
Who has electricity at home?
100% of people in Japan have electricity, versus 55% in Uganda
Japan: 100% (2024) · Uganda: 55.3% (2024)
How many live in cities?
92% of people in Japan live in cities, versus 32% in Uganda
Japan: 92% (2025) · Uganda: 32% (2025)
How many phones per person?
Japan has 178 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Uganda 83
Japan: 178 (2023) · Uganda: 83 (2024)
How much railway is there?
Japan’s railway network is 16 times as long as Uganda’s
Japan: 20,087 km (2011) · Uganda: 1,244 km (2014)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from Japan fly 2,315 times as many passengers per resident as those from Uganda
Japan: 0.98 (2023) · Uganda: 0.00042 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Forest covers 68% of Japan, but only 12% of Uganda
Japan: 68.3% (2024) · Uganda: 11.9% (2024)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in Japan emits 61 times as much CO₂ as someone in Uganda
Japan: 7.8 t (2024) · Uganda: 0.1 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
97% of Uganda’s electricity is renewable, versus 24% in Japan
Japan: 23.6% (2025) · Uganda: 97.1% (2024)
How clean is the air?
The air in Uganda carries 3.6 times as much fine dust as in Japan
Japan: 10.5 µg/m³ (2024) · Uganda: 37.3 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
You are 39 times as likely to be murdered in Uganda as in Japan
Japan: 0.2 per 100k (2023) · Uganda: 9 per 100k (2023)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Uganda are 6.3 times as deadly as in Japan
Japan: 3.8 per 100k (2023) · Uganda: 24.1 per 100k (2023)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
Uganda is on average 10.9 °C warmer than Japan
Japan: 12.8°C (2016–2025 avg) · Uganda: 23.7°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Japan gets 24% more rain than Uganda
Japan: 1,824 mm (2016–2025 avg) · Uganda: 1,470 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Between them
People, goods and passports that cross from one to the other
Quick answers
Is Japan bigger than Uganda?
Japan is larger. Japan is 56% bigger than Uganda.
Which has more people, Japan or Uganda?
Japan has 2.4 times as many people as Uganda (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, Japan or Uganda?
People in Japan live 16 years longer than in Uganda. Life expectancy at birth is 84.0 years in Japan and 68.5 in Uganda.
Are people taller in Japan or Uganda?
Men in Japan are 3.3 cm taller than in Uganda (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
