Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Japan instead of Saudi Arabia, you would:
Health
live 5.1 years longer
In Saudi Arabia, the average life expectancy is 79 years (77 years for men, 81 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 85.3% less likely to be obese
In Saudi Arabia, 40.1% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Japan, that number is 5.9% of people as of 2024.
see 54.4% more spent on your healthcare
Saudi Arabia spends $3,475 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Japan spends $5,365 as of 2023.
have 12.2% more access to essential health services
Saudi Arabia scores 74 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Japan scores 83 as of 2021.
have 22.2% fewer doctors per person
Saudi Arabia has 34.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Japan has 26.5 as of 2022.
be 18.3 times more likely to die by suicide
Saudi Arabia has a suicide rate of 0.9 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Japan, it is 17.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 19.4% less likely to be unemployed
In Saudi Arabia, 3.0% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Japan, that number is 2.5% as of 2025.
Life
be 57.1% less likely to die during childbirth
In Saudi Arabia, approximately 7.0 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 Saudi Arabia, 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 65.5% fewer children
In Saudi Arabia, there are approximately 16.5 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 14.5% less likely to have internet access
In Saudi Arabia, approximately 100.0% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Japan, about 85.5% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 25.4% less on education
Saudi Arabia spends 4.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Japan spends 3.3% of total GDP on education as of 2021.
spend 88.8% more on healthcare
Saudi Arabia spends 5.7% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Japan, that number is 10.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 11.3 times more coastline
Saudi Arabia has a total of 2,640 km of coastline. In Japan, that number is 29,751 km.
Safety
be 85.4% less likely to die in a road accident
In Saudi Arabia, road accidents kill 18.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Japan, they kill 2.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 96.2% less strain on fresh water
Saudi Arabia withdraws 974% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Japan withdraws 37% as of 2022.
find 12.3% less home broadband
Saudi Arabia has 44.1 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Japan has 38.6 as of 2023.
use 36.8% less electricity
Saudi Arabia uses 11,911 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Japan uses 7,530 kWh as of 2024.
Environment
be 86.8% less likely to die from air pollution
In Saudi Arabia, air pollution causes 91.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Japan, it causes 12.0 as of 2019.
emit 57.6% less CO2
Saudi Arabia emits 18.5 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: Saudi Arabia vs. Japan
Japan: At a glance
How big is Japan compared to Saudi Arabia? See an in-depth size comparison.