Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Japan instead of Uruguay, you would:
Health
live 5.8 years longer
In Uruguay, the average life expectancy is 78 years (74 years for men, 82 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 83.1% less likely to be obese
In Uruguay, 35.0% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Japan, that number is 5.9% of people as of 2024.
see 71.1% more spent on your healthcare
Uruguay spends $3,135 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Japan spends $5,365 as of 2023.
be 29.6% less likely to die by suicide
Uruguay has a suicide rate of 24.8 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Japan, it is 17.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
have 43.3% fewer doctors per person
Uruguay has 46.7 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Japan has 26.5 as of 2022.
Economy
be 67.4% less likely to be unemployed
In Uruguay, 7.5% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Japan, that number is 2.5% as of 2025.
make 42.6% more money
Uruguay has a GDP per capita of $25,216 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 Uruguay, 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 71.0% less likely to die during infancy
In Uruguay, approximately 6.2 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 41.8% fewer children
In Uruguay, there are approximately 9.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Japan, there are 5.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 29.8% less on education
Uruguay spends 4.8% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Japan spends 3.3% of total GDP on education as of 2021.
spend 19.1% more on healthcare
Uruguay spends 9.0% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Japan, that number is 10.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 45.1 times more coastline
Uruguay has a total of 660 km of coastline. In Japan, that number is 29,751 km.
Safety
be 98.0% less likely to be murdered
Uruguay has a homicide rate of 11.2 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Japan, that number is 0.2 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 79.2% less likely to die in a road accident
In Uruguay, road accidents kill 13.0 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Japan, they kill 2.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 16.9% more home broadband
Uruguay has 33.0 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Japan has 38.6 as of 2023.
use 98.7% more electricity
Uruguay uses 3,790 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Japan uses 7,530 kWh as of 2024.
live with 3.0 times more strain on fresh water
Uruguay withdraws 12% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Japan withdraws 37% as of 2022.
Environment
be 25.0% less likely to die from air pollution
In Uruguay, air pollution causes 16.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Japan, it causes 12.0 as of 2019.
emit 3.1 times more CO2
Uruguay emits 2.6 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: Uruguay vs. Japan
Japan: At a glance
How big is Japan compared to Uruguay? See an in-depth size comparison.