CountryDuel

Land

Size, shape and altitude

Total area

How big is it, really?

Japan is 14% bigger than Vietnam

Japan: 377,975 km² (2024) · Vietnam: 331,338 km² (2024)

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Coastline

How much coast is there?

Japan’s coastline is 8.6 times as long as Vietnam’s

Japan: 29,751 km (2026 edition) · Vietnam: 3,444 km (2026 edition)

Highest point

How high can you climb?

Japan’s highest peak towers 632 m above Vietnam’s

Japan: 3,776 m (2026 edition) · Vietnam: 3,144 m (2026 edition)

Farmland

How much of the land is farmed?

Farmland covers 39% of Vietnam, versus 13% of Japan

Japan: 12.6% (2024) · Vietnam: 39.2% (2024)

How far apart are they?

People

Who lives there, and how closely

Population

How many people live there?

Japan has 21% more people than Vietnam

Japan: 123 million (2025) · Vietnam: 102 million (2025)

Population density

How crowded is it?

Japan is 4% more densely populated than Vietnam

Japan: 338 per km² (2025) · Vietnam: 324 per km² (2025)

Height of men

How tall are the men?

Men in Japan are 3.2 cm taller than in Vietnam

Japan: 172.1 cm (2019) · Vietnam: 168.9 cm (2019)

Height of women

How tall are the women?

Japan and Vietnam are practically level

Japan: 158.5 cm (2019) · Vietnam: 158.4 cm (2019)

Median age

How old is the typical person?

The typical person in Japan is 17 years older than in Vietnam

Japan: 49 years (2023) · Vietnam: 32.4 years (2023)

Fertility rate

How many children per woman?

Women in Vietnam have 0.7 more children on average than in Japan

Japan: 1.15 children per woman (2024) · Vietnam: 1.9 children per woman (2024)

Aged 65 and over

How many people are 65 or older?

30% of people in Japan are 65 or older, versus 9.5% in Vietnam

Japan: 30% (2025) · Vietnam: 9.5% (2025)

Refugees hosted per 1,000 residents

How many refugees does it host?

Japan hosts 2,689 times as many refugees per resident as Vietnam

Japan: 0.3 per 1,000 (2025) · Vietnam: 0.00013 per 1,000 (2025)

Nobel laureates per 10 million people

How many Nobel laureates were born there?

Japan has produced 2.5 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, Vietnam 0.1

Japan: 2.5 (2026) · Vietnam: 0.1 (2026)

Official languages

How many official languages?

Japan and Vietnam are practically level

Japan: 1 (2026) · Vietnam: 1 (2026)

What shape is the population?

Money

What an economy looks like per person

Economy size (GDP)

How big is the economy?

Japan’s economy is 8.6 times the size of Vietnam’s

Japan: $4.44 trillion (2025) · Vietnam: $515 billion (2025)

GDP per person (PPP)

How much is produced per person?

Japan produces 3.1 times as much per person as Vietnam

Japan: Int$55,422 (2025) · Vietnam: Int$18,089 (2025)

Income inequality (Gini)

How evenly is income shared?

Income is more unequally shared in Vietnam than in Japan (Gini 3.8 points higher)

Japan: 32.3 (2020) · Vietnam: 36.1 (2022)

Extreme poverty ($3.00 a day)

How many live on less than $3 a day?

Vietnam and Japan are practically level

Japan: 1.2% (2020) · Vietnam: 1.6% (2022)

Unemployment

How many people are looking for work?

Unemployment is 2.5% in Japan, versus 1.5% in Vietnam

Japan: 2.5% (2025) · Vietnam: 1.5% (2025)

Military spending

How much goes to the military?

Vietnam spends 2.2% of its GDP on the military, Japan 1.4%

Japan: 1.4% (2025) · Vietnam: 2.2% (2025)

Price level (US = 100)

How expensive is it?

Japan’s price level (US = 100) is 2.3× Vietnam’s

Japan: 65% (2025) · Vietnam: 28% (2025)

Health

Long lives, small beginnings

Health spending per person

How much is spent on health?

Japan spends 18 times as much on health per person as Vietnam

Japan: $3,638 (2023) · Vietnam: $197 (2023)

Life expectancy

How long do people live?

People in Japan live 9.3 years longer than in Vietnam

Japan: 84 years (2024) · Vietnam: 74.7 years (2024)

Infant mortality

How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?

A baby in Vietnam is 6.7 times as likely to die before turning one as in Japan

Japan: 1.8 per 1,000 (2024) · Vietnam: 12 per 1,000 (2024)

Doctors

How many doctors are there?

Japan has 2.4 times as many doctors per person as Vietnam

Japan: 2.6 per 1,000 (2022) · Vietnam: 1.1 per 1,000 (2021)

Hospital beds

How many hospital beds are there?

Japan has 5 times as many hospital beds per person as Vietnam

Japan: 12.6 per 1,000 (2022) · Vietnam: 2.5 per 1,000 (2017)

Suicide rate

How common is suicide?

The suicide rate in Japan is 44% higher than in Vietnam

Japan: 14.4 per 100k (2023) · Vietnam: 10 per 100k (2023)

Adult obesity

How common is obesity?

5.2% of adults in Japan are obese, versus 2.5% in Vietnam

Japan: 5.2% (2024) · Vietnam: 2.5% (2024)

Smoking

How many adults smoke?

21% of adults in Vietnam smoke, versus 18% in Japan

Japan: 17.5% (2024) · Vietnam: 21.1% (2024)

Everyday life

Plates, glasses and happiness

Life satisfaction

How do people rate their lives?

People in Vietnam rate their lives 0.30 points higher than in Japan

Japan: 6.13 (2025) · Vietnam: 6.43 (2025)

Alcohol consumption

How much do people drink?

Adults in Vietnam drink 71% more alcohol than in Japan

Japan: 6.3 litres (2023) · Vietnam: 10.7 litres (2023)

Meat supply

How much meat is on the menu?

Vietnam and Japan are nearly identical here

Japan: 59.9 kg (2022) · Vietnam: 60.5 kg (2023)

Daily calories

How much food is there per day?

Vietnam has 416 kcal more food per person per day than Japan

Japan: 2,670 kcal (2022) · Vietnam: 3,086 kcal (2023)

Working hours

How long do people work?

Workers in Vietnam put in 507 more hours a year than in Japan

Japan: 1,654 hours (2023) · Vietnam: 2,160 hours (2023)

Years of schooling

How long do people go to school?

Adults in Japan went to school 3.7 years longer than in Vietnam

Japan: 12.7 years (2023) · Vietnam: 9 years (2023)

Tourists per resident

How many tourists visit?

Japan welcomed 3.7 times as many tourists per resident as Vietnam (2019)

Japan: 0.3 (2024) · Vietnam: 0.08 (2015)

World Heritage sites

How many World Heritage sites?

Japan has 18 more World Heritage sites than Vietnam (27 against 9)

Japan: 27 (2026) · Vietnam: 9 (2026)

Olympic medals (all time)

How many Olympic medals has it won?

Japan has won 642 Olympic medals, Vietnam 5

Japan: 642 (2026 edition) · Vietnam: 5 (2026 edition)

Connected

Online, electrified, urban

Internet users

How many people are online?

86% of people in Japan are online, versus 84% in Vietnam

Japan: 86% (2024) · Vietnam: 84% (2024)

Fixed broadband download speed

How fast is home internet?

Home internet in Japan is 32% faster than in Vietnam

Japan: 322 Mbps (2026) · Vietnam: 244 Mbps (2026)

Access to electricity

Who has electricity at home?

Japan and Vietnam are practically level

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

Urban population

How many live in cities?

92% of people in Japan live in cities, versus 39% in Vietnam

Japan: 92% (2025) · Vietnam: 39% (2025)

Mobile subscriptions

How many phones per person?

Japan has 178 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Vietnam 128

Japan: 178 (2023) · Vietnam: 128 (2024)

Railway network

How much railway is there?

Japan’s railway network is 6.4 times as long as Vietnam’s

Japan: 20,087 km (2011) · Vietnam: 3,159 km (2021)

Air passengers per resident

How much do they fly?

Airlines from Japan fly 80% more passengers per resident than those from Vietnam

Japan: 0.98 (2023) · Vietnam: 0.54 (2023)

Planet

Air, forests and energy

Forest cover

How much of the land is forest?

Forest covers 68% of Japan, but only 47% of Vietnam

Japan: 68.3% (2024) · Vietnam: 47.1% (2024)

CO₂ per person

How much CO₂ does each person emit?

The average person in Japan emits 2.1 times as much CO₂ as someone in Vietnam

Japan: 7.8 t (2024) · Vietnam: 3.7 t (2024)

Renewable electricity

How green is the power grid?

45% of Vietnam’s electricity is renewable, versus 24% in Japan

Japan: 23.6% (2025) · Vietnam: 45.4% (2025)

Air pollution (PM2.5)

How clean is the air?

The air in Vietnam carries 2.4 times as much fine dust as in Japan

Japan: 10.5 µg/m³ (2024) · Vietnam: 25.6 µg/m³ (2024)

Where does the power come from?

Safety

Measured risk, not vibes

Homicide rate

How common is murder?

Japan: 0.2 per 100k (2023) · Vietnam: no data

Road deaths

How dangerous are the roads?

Roads in Vietnam are 4.8 times as deadly as in Japan

Japan: 3.8 per 100k (2023) · Vietnam: 18.4 per 100k (2023)

Climate

What the year feels like

Average temperature

How warm is it?

Vietnam is on average 11.6 °C warmer than Japan

Japan: 12.8°C (2016–2025 avg) · Vietnam: 24.4°C (2016–2025 avg)

Rainfall

How much rain falls?

Vietnam gets 17% more rain than Japan

Japan: 1,824 mm (2016–2025 avg) · Vietnam: 2,132 mm (2016–2025 avg)

What does the year feel like?

Between them

People, goods and passports that cross from one to the other

Who has moved between them?
Can they visit without a visa?
What do they sell each other?
Have they met on the pitch?
Time machine

Quick answers

Is Japan bigger than Vietnam?

Japan is larger. Japan is 14% bigger than Vietnam.

Which has more people, Japan or Vietnam?

Japan has 21% more people than Vietnam (2025 estimates).

Where do people live longer, Japan or Vietnam?

People in Japan live 9.3 years longer than in Vietnam. Life expectancy at birth is 84.0 years in Japan and 74.7 in Vietnam.

Are people taller in Japan or Vietnam?

Men in Japan are 3.2 cm taller than in Vietnam (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).

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