Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Japan instead of Finland, you would:
Health
live 1.7 years longer
In Finland, the average life expectancy is 82 years (80 years for men, 85 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 75.6% less likely to be obese
In Finland, 24.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Japan, that number is 5.9% of people as of 2024.
see 16.6% less spent on your healthcare
Finland spends $6,433 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Japan spends $5,365 as of 2023.
have 26.6% fewer doctors per person
Finland has 36.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2021. Japan has 26.5 as of 2022.
be 19.6% more likely to die by suicide
Finland has a suicide rate of 14.6 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Japan, it is 17.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 74.1% less likely to be unemployed
In Finland, 9.5% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Japan, that number is 2.5% as of 2025.
make 36.0% less money
Finland has a GDP per capita of $56,149 as of 2025, while in Japan, the GDP per capita is $35,951 as of 2025.
Life
be 62.5% less likely to die during childbirth
In Finland, approximately 8.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Japan, 3.0 women do as of 2023.
have 26.9% fewer children
In Finland, there are approximately 7.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Japan, there are 5.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 47.6% less on education
Finland spends 6.4% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Japan spends 3.3% of total GDP on education as of 2021.
Geography
see 23.8 times more coastline
Finland has a total of 1,250 km of coastline. In Japan, that number is 29,751 km.
Safety
be 76.5% less likely to be murdered
Finland has a homicide rate of 1.0 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Japan, that number is 0.2 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 35.7% less likely to die in a road accident
In Finland, road accidents kill 4.2 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Japan, they kill 2.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 5.2 times more strain on fresh water
Finland withdraws 7% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Japan withdraws 37% as of 2022.
use 49.2% less electricity
Finland uses 14,819 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Japan uses 7,530 kWh as of 2024.
Environment
be 71.4% more likely to die from air pollution
In Finland, air pollution causes 7.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Japan, it causes 12.0 as of 2019.
emit 41.5% more CO2
Finland emits 5.5 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Japan emits 7.8 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Finland vs. Japan
Japan: At a glance
How big is Japan compared to Finland? See an in-depth size comparison.