Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Japan instead of Portugal, you would:
Health
live 1.7 years longer
In Portugal, the average life expectancy is 82 years (80 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 67.3% less likely to be obese
In Portugal, 18.1% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Japan, that number is 5.9% of people as of 2024.
have 54.7% fewer doctors per person
Portugal has 58.5 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Japan has 26.5 as of 2022.
be 51.3% more likely to die by suicide
Portugal has a suicide rate of 11.5 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Japan, it is 17.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 60.2% less likely to be unemployed
In Portugal, 6.2% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Japan, that number is 2.5% as of 2025.
make 12.1% more money
Portugal has a GDP per capita of $32,082 as of 2025, while in Japan, the GDP per capita is $35,951 as of 2025.
Life
be 80.0% less likely to die during childbirth
In Portugal, approximately 15.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Japan, 3.0 women do as of 2023.
be 33.3% less likely to die during infancy
In Portugal, approximately 2.7 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 27.8% fewer children
In Portugal, there are approximately 7.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Japan, there are 5.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 26.6% less on education
Portugal spends 4.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Japan spends 3.3% of total GDP on education as of 2021.
Geography
see 16.6 times more coastline
Portugal has a total of 1,793 km of coastline. In Japan, that number is 29,751 km.
Safety
be 68.1% less likely to be murdered
Portugal has a homicide rate of 0.7 per 100,000 people as of 2022. In Japan, that number is 0.2 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 62.5% less likely to die in a road accident
In Portugal, road accidents kill 7.2 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Japan, they kill 2.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
use 42.2% more electricity
Portugal uses 5,294 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Japan uses 7,530 kWh as of 2024.
find 14.6% less home broadband
Portugal has 45.2 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Japan has 38.6 as of 2023.
live with 3.0 times more strain on fresh water
Portugal withdraws 12% 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 Portugal, air pollution causes 10.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Japan, it causes 12.0 as of 2019.
emit 2.4 times more CO2
Portugal emits 3.3 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: Portugal vs. Japan
Japan: At a glance
How big is Japan compared to Portugal? See an in-depth size comparison.