Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Japan instead of Switzerland, you would:
Health
be 47.7% less likely to be obese
In Switzerland, 11.3% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Japan, that number is 5.9% of people as of 2024.
see 49.4% less spent on your healthcare
Switzerland spends $10,602 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Japan spends $5,365 as of 2023.
have 40.8% fewer doctors per person
Switzerland has 44.8 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Japan has 26.5 as of 2022.
be 24.3% more likely to die by suicide
Switzerland has a suicide rate of 14.0 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Japan, it is 17.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 49.7% less likely to be unemployed
In Switzerland, 4.9% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Japan, that number is 2.5% as of 2025.
make 68.7% less money
Switzerland has a GDP per capita of $114,769 as of 2025, while in Japan, the GDP per capita is $35,951 as of 2025.
Life
be 40.0% less likely to die during childbirth
In Switzerland, approximately 5.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Japan, 3.0 women do as of 2023.
be 47.1% less likely to die during infancy
In Switzerland, approximately 3.4 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 34.5% fewer children
In Switzerland, there are approximately 8.7 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 12.1% less likely to have internet access
In Switzerland, approximately 97.3% of the population has internet access as of 2025. In Japan, about 85.5% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 31.3% less on education
Switzerland spends 4.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Japan spends 3.3% of total GDP on education as of 2021.
Safety
be 61.7% less likely to be murdered
Switzerland has a homicide rate of 0.6 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Japan, that number is 0.2 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 16.5% more likely to feel safe walking alone at night
In Switzerland, 72% of people feel safe walking alone at night as of 2021. In Japan, that number is 83% as of 2019.
be 12.5% more likely to die in a road accident
In Switzerland, road accidents kill 2.4 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Japan, they kill 2.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 17.8% less home broadband
Switzerland has 47.0 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Japan has 38.6 as of 2023.
live with 5.6 times more strain on fresh water
Switzerland withdraws 6% 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 Switzerland, air pollution causes 10.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Japan, it causes 12.0 as of 2019.
emit 2.1 times more CO2
Switzerland emits 3.8 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). How we calculate this
Compare further: Switzerland vs. Japan
Japan: At a glance
How big is Japan compared to Switzerland? See an in-depth size comparison.