Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Japan instead of Panama, you would:
Health
live 4.3 years longer
In Panama, the average life expectancy is 80 years (77 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 84.4% less likely to be obese
In Panama, 37.7% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Japan, that number is 5.9% of people as of 2024.
see 61.7% more spent on your healthcare
Panama spends $3,318 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Japan spends $5,365 as of 2023.
have 63.0% more doctors per person
Panama has 16.2 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Japan has 26.5 as of 2022.
be 5.3 times more likely to die by suicide
Panama has a suicide rate of 3.3 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Japan, it is 17.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 70.7% less likely to be unemployed
In Panama, 8.4% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Japan, that number is 2.5% as of 2025.
make 81.7% more money
Panama has a GDP per capita of $19,790 as of 2025, while in Japan, the GDP per capita is $35,951 as of 2025.
Life
be 91.9% less likely to die during childbirth
In Panama, approximately 37.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Japan, 3.0 women do as of 2023.
be 85.0% less likely to die during infancy
In Panama, approximately 12.0 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 64.1% fewer children
In Panama, there are approximately 15.9 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 17.5% more likely to have internet access
In Panama, approximately 72.8% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Japan, about 85.5% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 35.2% more on education
Panama spends 2.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Japan spends 3.3% of total GDP on education as of 2021.
spend 28.9% more on healthcare
Panama spends 8.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Japan, that number is 10.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 11.9 times more coastline
Panama has a total of 2,490 km of coastline. In Japan, that number is 29,751 km.
Safety
be 98.0% less likely to be murdered
Panama has a homicide rate of 11.7 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Japan, that number is 0.2 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 2.5 times more likely to feel safe walking alone at night
In Panama, 33% of people feel safe walking alone at night as of 2016. In Japan, that number is 83% as of 2019.
be 63.0% less likely to die in a road accident
In Panama, road accidents kill 7.3 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Japan, they kill 2.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 2.1 times more home broadband
Panama has 18.1 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2023. Japan has 38.6 as of 2023.
use 2.8 times more electricity
Panama uses 2,715 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Japan uses 7,530 kWh as of 2024.
live with 40.7 times more strain on fresh water
Panama withdraws 1% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Japan withdraws 37% as of 2022.
Environment
be 29.4% less likely to die from air pollution
In Panama, air pollution causes 17.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Japan, it causes 12.0 as of 2019.
emit 2.9 times more CO2
Panama emits 2.7 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: Panama vs. Japan
Japan: At a glance
How big is Japan compared to Panama? See an in-depth size comparison.