Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Japan instead of Canada, you would:
Health
live 1.9 years longer
In Canada, the average life expectancy is 82 years (80 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024. In Japan, that number is 84 years (81 years for men, 87 years for women) as of 2024.
be 77.3% less likely to be obese
In Canada, 26.0% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Japan, that number is 5.9% of people as of 2024.
see 29.8% less spent on your healthcare
Canada spends $7,646 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Japan spends $5,365 as of 2023.
be 84.6% more likely to die by suicide
Canada has a suicide rate of 9.4 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Japan, it is 17.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 64.5% less likely to be unemployed
In Canada, 6.9% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Japan, that number is 2.5% as of 2025.
make 35.5% less money
Canada has a GDP per capita of $55,698 as of 2025, while in Japan, the GDP per capita is $35,951 as of 2025.
Life
be 75.0% less likely to die during childbirth
In Canada, approximately 12.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Japan, 3.0 women do as of 2023.
be 61.7% less likely to die during infancy
In Canada, approximately 4.7 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Japan, on the other hand, 1.8 children do as of 2024.
have 36.0% fewer children
In Canada, there are approximately 8.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Japan, there are 5.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 31.0% less on education
Canada spends 4.8% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Japan spends 3.3% of total GDP on education as of 2021.
Geography
see 85.3% less coastline
Canada has a total of 202,080 km of coastline. In Japan, that number is 29,751 km.
Safety
be 88.4% less likely to be murdered
Canada has a homicide rate of 2.0 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Japan, that number is 0.2 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 42.6% less likely to die in a road accident
In Canada, road accidents kill 4.7 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Japan, they kill 2.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 9.8 times more strain on fresh water
Canada withdraws 4% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Japan withdraws 37% as of 2022.
use 46.6% less electricity
Canada uses 14,093 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Japan uses 7,530 kWh as of 2024.
Environment
emit 44.0% less CO2
Canada emits 14.0 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Japan emits 7.8 tonnes as of 2024.
be 50.0% more likely to die from air pollution
In Canada, air pollution causes 8.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Japan, it causes 12.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Canada vs. Japan
Japan: At a glance
How big is Japan compared to Canada? See an in-depth size comparison.