Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Japan instead of Maldives, you would:
Health
live 2.8 years longer
In Maldives, the average life expectancy is 81 years (80 years for men, 83 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 67.0% less likely to be obese
In Maldives, 17.9% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Japan, that number is 5.9% of people as of 2024.
see 2.3 times more spent on your healthcare
Maldives spends $2,288 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Japan spends $5,365 as of 2023.
have 18.5% more doctors per person
Maldives has 22.4 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2019. Japan has 26.5 as of 2022.
have 36.1% more access to essential health services
Maldives scores 61 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Japan scores 83 as of 2021.
be 11.9 times more likely to die by suicide
Maldives has a suicide rate of 1.5 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Japan, it is 17.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 45.7% less likely to be unemployed
In Maldives, 4.5% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Japan, that number is 2.5% as of 2025.
make 2.5 times more money
Maldives has a GDP per capita of $14,615 as of 2025, while in Japan, the GDP per capita is $35,951 as of 2025.
Life
be 90.6% less likely to die during childbirth
In Maldives, approximately 32.0 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 Maldives, 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 46.2% fewer children
In Maldives, there are approximately 10.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Japan, there are 5.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 35.4% less on education
Maldives spends 5.2% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Japan spends 3.3% of total GDP on education as of 2021.
spend 16.1% more on healthcare
Maldives spends 9.2% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Japan, that number is 10.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 46.2 times more coastline
Maldives has a total of 644 km of coastline. In Japan, that number is 29,751 km.
Safety
be 2.1 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Maldives, road accidents kill 1.3 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Japan, they kill 2.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 96.6% more home broadband
Maldives has 19.6 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Japan has 38.6 as of 2023.
live with 2.3 times more strain on fresh water
Maldives withdraws 16% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Japan withdraws 37% as of 2022.
Environment
be 58.6% less likely to die from air pollution
In Maldives, air pollution causes 29.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Japan, it causes 12.0 as of 2019.
emit 2.2 times more CO2
Maldives emits 3.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Japan emits 7.8 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2019–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Maldives vs. Japan
Japan: At a glance
How big is Japan compared to Maldives? See an in-depth size comparison.