Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Japan instead of Norway, you would:
Health
live 0.9 years longer
In Norway, the average life expectancy is 83 years (82 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 70.8% less likely to be obese
In Norway, 20.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Japan, that number is 5.9% of people as of 2024.
see 43.7% less spent on your healthcare
Norway spends $9,523 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Japan spends $5,365 as of 2023.
have 46.8% fewer doctors per person
Norway has 49.8 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Japan has 26.5 as of 2022.
be 32.1% more likely to die by suicide
Norway has a suicide rate of 13.2 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Japan, it is 17.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 47.2% less likely to be unemployed
In Norway, 4.6% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Japan, that number is 2.5% as of 2025.
make 62.0% less money
Norway has a GDP per capita of $94,594 as of 2025, while in Japan, the GDP per capita is $35,951 as of 2025.
Life
be 3.0 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Norway, approximately 1.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Japan, 3.0 women do as of 2023.
have 41.2% fewer children
In Norway, 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.
Basic Needs
be 13.6% less likely to have internet access
In Norway, approximately 99.0% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Japan, about 85.5% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 38.5% less on education
Norway spends 5.4% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Japan spends 3.3% of total GDP on education as of 2021.
spend 13.9% more on healthcare
Norway spends 9.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Japan, that number is 10.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 18.3% more coastline
Norway has a total of 25,148 km of coastline. In Japan, that number is 29,751 km.
Safety
be 68.1% less likely to be murdered
Norway has a homicide rate of 0.7 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Japan, that number is 0.2 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 80.0% more likely to die in a road accident
In Norway, road accidents kill 1.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Japan, they kill 2.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 14.5% less home broadband
Norway has 45.2 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Japan has 38.6 as of 2023.
live with 18.0 times more strain on fresh water
Norway withdraws 2% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Japan withdraws 37% as of 2022.
use 68.2% less electricity
Norway uses 23,673 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Japan uses 7,530 kWh as of 2024.
Environment
be 50.0% more likely to die from air pollution
In Norway, 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: Norway vs. Japan
Japan: At a glance
How big is Japan compared to Norway? See an in-depth size comparison.