Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Japan instead of France, you would:
Health
live 1.1 years longer
In France, the average life expectancy is 83 years (80 years for men, 86 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 47.3% less likely to be obese
In France, 11.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Japan, that number is 5.9% of people as of 2024.
see 21.9% less spent on your healthcare
France spends $6,868 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Japan spends $5,365 as of 2023.
have 19.3% fewer doctors per person
France has 32.8 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Japan has 26.5 as of 2022.
Economy
be 67.5% less likely to be unemployed
In France, 7.5% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Japan, that number is 2.5% as of 2025.
make 26.6% less money
France has a GDP per capita of $48,986 as of 2025, while in Japan, the GDP per capita is $35,951 as of 2025.
Life
be 57.1% less likely to die during childbirth
In France, approximately 7.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Japan, 3.0 women do as of 2023.
be 47.1% less likely to die during infancy
In France, approximately 3.4 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 41.2% fewer children
In France, there are approximately 9.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Japan, there are 5.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 37.2% less on education
France spends 5.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Japan spends 3.3% of total GDP on education as of 2021.
Geography
see 6.1 times more coastline
France has a total of 4,853 km of coastline. In Japan, that number is 29,751 km.
Safety
be 82.8% less likely to be murdered
France has a homicide rate of 1.3 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 France, 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
use 16.8% more electricity
France uses 6,447 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Japan uses 7,530 kWh as of 2024.
find 21.1% less home broadband
France has 48.9 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Japan has 38.6 as of 2023.
live with 71.4% more strain on fresh water
France withdraws 21% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Japan withdraws 37% as of 2022.
Environment
be 20.0% more likely to die from air pollution
In France, air pollution causes 10.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Japan, it causes 12.0 as of 2019.
emit 96.0% more CO2
France emits 4.0 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: France vs. Japan
Japan: At a glance
How big is Japan compared to France? See an in-depth size comparison.