Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Japan instead of Italy, you would:
Health
be 57.8% less likely to be obese
In Italy, 14.0% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Japan, that number is 5.9% of people as of 2024.
have 36.8% fewer doctors per person
Italy has 41.9 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Japan has 26.5 as of 2022.
be 2.5 times more likely to die by suicide
Italy has a suicide rate of 7.0 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Japan, it is 17.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 61.7% less likely to be unemployed
In Italy, 6.4% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Japan, that number is 2.5% as of 2025.
make 17.0% less money
Italy has a GDP per capita of $43,309 as of 2025, while in Japan, the GDP per capita is $35,951 as of 2025.
Life
be 50.0% less likely to die during childbirth
In Italy, approximately 6.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Japan, 3.0 women do as of 2023.
be 21.7% less likely to die during infancy
In Italy, approximately 2.3 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.
Expenditures
spend 17.9% less on education
Italy spends 4.1% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Japan spends 3.3% of total GDP on education as of 2021.
spend 27.3% more on healthcare
Italy spends 8.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2024. In Japan, that number is 10.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 3.9 times more coastline
Italy has a total of 7,600 km of coastline. In Japan, that number is 29,751 km.
Safety
be 59.6% less likely to be murdered
Italy has a homicide rate of 0.6 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Japan, that number is 0.2 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 37.6% more likely to feel safe walking alone at night
In Italy, 61% of people feel safe walking alone at night as of 2016. In Japan, that number is 83% as of 2019.
be 46.0% less likely to die in a road accident
In Italy, road accidents kill 5.0 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Japan, they kill 2.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 21.6% more home broadband
Italy has 31.8 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Japan has 38.6 as of 2023.
use 46.6% more electricity
Italy uses 5,137 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Japan uses 7,530 kWh as of 2024.
live with 23.1% more strain on fresh water
Italy withdraws 30% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Japan withdraws 37% as of 2022.
Environment
be 20.0% less likely to die from air pollution
In Italy, air pollution causes 15.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Japan, it causes 12.0 as of 2019.
emit 54.3% more CO2
Italy emits 5.1 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 (2016–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Italy vs. Japan
Japan: At a glance
How big is Japan compared to Italy? See an in-depth size comparison.