Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Japan instead of Spain, you would:
Health
be 61.5% less likely to be obese
In Spain, 15.3% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Japan, that number is 5.9% of people as of 2024.
have 38.3% fewer doctors per person
Spain has 42.9 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Japan has 26.5 as of 2022.
be 99.9% more likely to die by suicide
Spain has a suicide rate of 8.7 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Japan, it is 17.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 76.4% less likely to be unemployed
In Spain, 10.4% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Japan, that number is 2.5% as of 2025.
Life
be 30.8% less likely to die during infancy
In Spain, approximately 2.6 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 12.3% fewer children
In Spain, there are approximately 6.5 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 10.7% less likely to have internet access
In Spain, approximately 95.8% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Japan, about 85.5% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 27.2% less on education
Spain spends 4.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Japan spends 3.3% of total GDP on education as of 2021.
spend 16.5% more on healthcare
Spain 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 6.0 times more coastline
Spain has a total of 4,964 km of coastline. In Japan, that number is 29,751 km.
Safety
be 66.7% less likely to be murdered
Spain 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 22.9% less likely to die in a road accident
In Spain, road accidents kill 3.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Japan, they kill 2.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 15.3% less strain on fresh water
Spain withdraws 43% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Japan withdraws 37% as of 2022.
use 44.9% more electricity
Spain uses 5,196 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Japan uses 7,530 kWh as of 2024.
Environment
be 20.0% more likely to die from air pollution
In Spain, air pollution causes 10.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Japan, it causes 12.0 as of 2019.
emit 73.8% more CO2
Spain emits 4.5 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: Spain vs. Japan
Japan: At a glance
How big is Japan compared to Spain? See an in-depth size comparison.