Map of Japan | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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Background: In 1603, after decades of civil warfare, the Tokugawa shogunate (a military-led, dynastic government) ushered in a long period of relative political stability and isolation from foreign influence. For more than two centuries, this policy enabled Japan to enjoy a flowering of its indigenous culture. Japan opened its ports after signing the Treaty of Kanagawa with the US in 1854 and began to intensively modernize and industrialize. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Japan became a regional power that was able to defeat the forces of both China and Russia. It occupied Korea, Formosa (Taiwan), and southern Sakhalin Island. In 1931-32, Japan occupied Manchuria, and in 1937, it launched a full-scale invasion of China. Japan attacked US forces at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in 1941, triggering America's entry into World War II, and Japan soon occupied much of East and Southeast Asia. After its defeat in World War II, the country recovered to become an economic power and a US ally. While the emperor retains his throne as a symbol of national unity, elected politicians hold the decision-making power. After three decades of unprecedented growth, Japan's economy experienced a major slowdown starting in the 1990s, but the country remains an economic power. In 2011, Japan's strongest-ever earthquake and an accompanying tsunami devastated the northeast part of Honshu, killed thousands, and damaged several nuclear power plants. ABE Shinzo was reelected as prime minister in 2012, and he embarked on ambitious economic and security reforms to improve Japan's economy and bolster the country's international standing. In 2019, ABE became Japan's longest-serving post-war prime minister; he resigned in 2020 and was succeeded by SUGA Yoshihide. KISHIDA Fumio became prime minister in 2021.


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Location

Geographic coordinates

Map reference

Area
Total: 377,915 km²
Land: 364,485 km²
Water: 13,430 km²
Note: includes Bonin Islands (Ogasawara-gunto), Daito-shoto, Minami-jima, Okino-tori-shima, Ryukyu Islands (Nansei-shoto), and Volcano Islands (Kazan-retto)
Comparative: slightly smaller than California

Land boundaries
Total: 0 km

Coastline: 29,751 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm; between 3 nm and 12 nm in the international straits - La Perouse or Soya, Tsugaru, Osumi, and the Korea and Tsushima Straits
Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate: varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north

Terrain: mostly rugged and mountainous

Elevation
Highest point: Mount Fuji 3,776 m
Lowest point: Hachiro-gata -4 m
Mean elevation: 438 m

Natural resources

Land use
Agricultural land: 12.6% (2023 est.)
Arable land: 11.1% (2023 est.)
Permanent crops: 0.7% (2023 est.)
Permanent pasture: 0.9% (2023 est.)
Forest: 68.3% (2023 est.)
Other: 19% (2023 est.)

Irrigated land: 15,730 km² (2014)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: many dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1,500 seismic occurrences (mostly tremors but occasional severe earthquakes) every year; tsunamis; typhoons
Volcanism: both Unzen (1,500 m) and Sakura-jima (1,117 m), which lies near the densely populated city of Kagoshima, have been deemed Decade Volcanoes by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, worthy of study due to their explosive history and close proximity to human populations; other notable historically active volcanoes include Asama (Honshu Island's most active volcano), Aso, Bandai, Fuji, Iwo-Jima, Kikai, Kirishima, Komaga-take, Oshima, Suwanosejima, Tokachi, Yake-dake, and Usu; see note 2 under 'Geography - note'

Geography
Note note 1: strategic location in northeast Asia; composed of four main islands (the 'Home Islands') -- Hokkaido, Honshu (the largest, most populous, and site of Tokyo, the capital), Shikoku, and Kyushu
Note note 2: a 2023 Geospatial Information Authority of Japan survey detected 100,000 islands and islets, but only the 14,125 islands with a circumference of at least 100 m (330 ft) were officially counted; about 260 of the islands are inhabited
Note note 3: Japan annually records the most earthquakes in the world; it is one of the countries along the Ring of Fire, which is a belt bordering the Pacific Ocean that contains about 75% of the world's volcanoes and up to 90% of the world's earthquakes


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Population
Total: 123,201,945 (2024 est.)
Male: 59,875,269
Female: 63,326,676
Distribution: all primary and secondary regions of high population density lie on the coast; one third of the population resides in and around Tokyo on the central plain (Kanto Plain)
Growth rate: -0.43% (2024 est.)

Nationality

Ethnic groups

Languages: Japanese
Major-language sample(s): ; 必要不可欠な基本情報の源、ワールド・ファクトブック(Japanese); The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Religions: Shintoism 48.6%, Buddhism 46.4%, Christianity 1.1%, other 4% (2021 est.)
Note: total adherents among persons claiming a religious affiliation

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 12.1% (male 7,701,196/female 7,239,389)
15-64 years: 58.4% (male 36,197,840/female 35,777,966)
65 years and over: 29.5% (2024 est.) (male 15,976,233/female 20,309,321)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 71.2 (2024 est.)
Youth dependency ratio: 20.8 (2024 est.)
Elderly dependency ratio: 50.4 (2024 est.)
Potential support ratio: 2 (2024 est.)

Median age
Total: 49.9 years (2024 est.)
Male: 48.3 years
Female: 51.3 years

Population growth rate: -0.43% (2024 est.)

Birth rate: 6.9 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)

Death rate: 11.9 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)

Net migration rate

Population distribution: all primary and secondary regions of high population density lie on the coast; one third of the population resides in and around Tokyo on the central plain (Kanto Plain)

Urbanization
Urban population: 92% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: -0.25% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 37.194 million TOKYO (capital), 19.013 million Osaka, 9.569 million Nagoya, 5.490 million Kitakyushu-Fukuoka, 2.937 million Shizuoka-Hamamatsu, 2.666 million Sapporo (2023)

Environment

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio: 3 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 1.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)
Male: 2 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 1.7 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 85.2 years (2024 est.)
Male: 82.3 years
Female: 88.2 years

Total fertility rate: 1.4 children born/woman (2024 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source
Total: 0.9% of population (2022 est.)

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access
Total: 0.1% of population (2022 est.)

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment
Rate (ages 15-24): 2.6% (2024 est.); 2.6% (2023 est.); 2.6% (2022 est.)
Rate (ages 15-24) note: % of labor force seeking employment


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Country name

Government type

Capital
Name: Tokyo
Geographic coordinates: 35 41 N, 139 45 E
Time difference: UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Etymology: originally known as Edo, meaning 'estuary' because of its location on a bay; the name was changed to Tokyo, meaning 'eastern capital,' in 1868, as a contrast to Kyoto, the previous capital to the west

Administrative divisions: 47 prefectures; Aichi, Akita, Aomori, Chiba, Ehime, Fukui, Fukuoka, Fukushima, Gifu, Gunma, Hiroshima, Hokkaido, Hyogo, Ibaraki, Ishikawa, Iwate, Kagawa, Kagoshima, Kanagawa, Kochi, Kumamoto, Kyoto, Mie, Miyagi, Miyazaki, Nagano, Nagasaki, Nara, Niigata, Oita, Okayama, Okinawa, Osaka, Saga, Saitama, Shiga, Shimane, Shizuoka, Tochigi, Tokushima, Tokyo, Tottori, Toyama, Wakayama, Yamagata, Yamaguchi, Yamanashi

Dependent areas

Independence

National holiday

Constitution

Legal system: civil law system based on German model; also reflects Anglo-American influence and Japanese traditions; Supreme Court reviews legislative acts

International law organization participation: accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship

Suffrage

Executive branch
Chief of state: Emperor NARUHITO (since 1 May 2019)
Head of government: Prime Minister Sanae TAKAICHI (since 21 October 2025)
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister
Election/appointment process: the monarchy is hereditary; the leader of the majority party or majority coalition in the House of Representatives usually becomes prime minister
2025: Sanae TAKAICHI (LDP) elected prime minister on 21 October 2025; upper house vote - 125 of 171 votes (runoff); lower house vote - 237 of 386 votes
2024: Shigeru ISHIBA (LDP) elected prime minister on 27 September 2024; upper house vote - 143 of 242 votes; lower house vote - 291 of 461 votes
Note: Shigeru ISHIBA resigned as prime minister on 7 September 2025; the party vote on the new prime minister is expected in early October 2025

Legislative branch
Legislature name: National Diet (Kokkai)
Legislative structure: bicameral

Judicial branch

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation

Diplomatic representation

Flag description: white with a large red disk that symbolizes the sun without rays, in the center

National symbols

National anthem
Title: 'Kimigayo' (“His Majesty’s Reign)
Lyrics/music: unknown/Hiromori HAYASHI
History: adopted 1999; unofficial national anthem since 1883; oldest anthem lyrics in the world, dating to the 10th century or earlier; some oppose the anthem because of its association with militarism and worship of the emperor

National heritage
Total World Heritage Sites: 26 (21 cultural, 5 natural)
Selected World Heritage Site locales:


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Economy overview

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 0.1% (2024 est.); 1.5% (2023 est.); 0.9% (2022 est.)
Note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

Real gdp per capita: 0.1% (2024 est.); 1.5% (2023 est.); 0.9% (2022 est.)
Note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 55.5% (2022 est.)
Government consumption: 21.6% (2022 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 26.3% (2022 est.)
Investment in inventories: 0.5% (2022 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 21.5% (2022 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -25.3% (2022 est.)
Note: figures may not total 100% due to rounding or gaps in data collection

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 0.9% (2023 est.)
Industry: 28.6% (2023 est.)
Services: 69.8% (2023 est.)
Note: figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data

Agriculture products

Industries: motor vehicles, electronic equipment, machine tools, steel and nonferrous metals, ships, chemicals, textiles, processed foods

Industrial production growth rate: 1.4% (2023 est.)
Note: annual % change in industrial value added based on constant local currency

Labor force: 69.382 million (2024 est.)
Note: number of people ages 15 or older who are employed or seeking work

Unemployment rate: 2.6% (2024 est.); 2.6% (2023 est.); 2.6% (2022 est.)
Note: % of labor force seeking employment

Youth unemployment
Rate (ages 15-24): 2.6% (2024 est.); 2.6% (2023 est.); 2.6% (2022 est.)
Rate (ages 15-24) note: % of labor force seeking employment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $661.986 billion (2022 est.)
Expenditures: $897.03 billion (2022 est.)
Note: central government revenues and expenditures (excluding grants and social security funds) converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $922.447 billion (2024 est.); $923.488 billion (2023 est.); $922.813 billion (2022 est.)
Note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars
Commodities: cars, integrated circuits, machinery, vehicle parts/accessories, construction vehicles (2023)
Commodities note: top five export commodities based on value in dollars

Imports: $965.047 billion (2024 est.); $996.364 billion (2023 est.); $1.081 trillion (2022 est.)
Note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars
Commodities: crude petroleum, natural gas, coal, integrated circuits, broadcasting equipment (2023)
Commodities note: top five import commodities based on value in dollars

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates


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Electricity
Installed generating capacity: 361.617 million kW (2023 est.)
Consumption: 902.769 billion kWh (2023 est.)
Transmission/distribution losses: 41.79 billion kWh (2023 est.)
Access electrification - total population: 100% (2022 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels: 65.8% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Generation sources nuclear: 8.9% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Generation sources solar: 10.3% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Generation sources wind: 1.1% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 7.1% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Generation sources geothermal: 0.3% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Generation sources biomass and waste: 6.5% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)

Coal
Production: 27.657 million metric tons (2023 est.)
Consumption: 197.612 million metric tons (2023 est.)
Exports: 1.615 million metric tons (2023 est.)
Imports: 170.874 million metric tons (2023 est.)
Proven reserves: 350 million metric tons (2023 est.)

Petroleum
Total petroleum production: 8,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)
Refined petroleum consumption: 3.14 million bbl/day (2024 est.)
Crude oil estimated reserves: 44.115 million barrels (2021 est.)

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas
Production: 2.019 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)
Consumption: 88.317 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)
Exports: 271.607 million cubic meters (2022 est.)
Imports: 85.003 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)
Proven reserves: 20.898 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions: 960.23 million metric tonnes of CO&sub2; (2023 est.)
From coal and metallurgical coke: 367.144 million metric tonnes of CO&sub2; (2023 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids: 403.042 million metric tonnes of CO&sub2; (2023 est.)
From consumed natural gas: 190.043 million metric tonnes of CO&sub2; (2023 est.)

Energy consumption per capita: 129.504 million Btu/person (2023 est.)


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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 59.758 million (2023 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 48 (2023 est.)
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 219 million (2023 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 168 (2022 est.)

Telephone system

Broadcast media

Internet
Users percent of population: 87% (2023 est.)

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 47.9 million (2023 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 39 (2023 est.)


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Military expenditures: 1.4% of GDP (2024 est.); 1.2% of GDP (2023 est.); 1.1% of GDP (2022 est.); 1% of GDP (2021 est.); 1% of GDP (2020 est.)
Note: the Japanese Government in 2022 pledged to increase defense expenditures to 2% of GDP in line with NATO standards by March 2,028; if the planned increase occurs, Japan would have the world's third largest defense budget

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 280 (2025)

Heliports: 3,036 (2025)

Pipelines

Railways
Total: 27,311 km (2015)
Standard gauge: 4,800 km (2015) 1.435-m gauge (4,800 km electrified)
Narrow gauge: 124 km (2015) 1.372-m gauge (124 km electrified)
Dual gauge: 132 km (2015) 1.435-1.067-m gauge (132 km electrified); 22,207 km 1.067-mm gauge (15,430 km electrified); 48 km 0.762-m gauge (48 km electrified)

Roadways

Waterways

Merchant marine
Total: 5,229 (2023)
By type: bulk carrier 166, container ship 49, general cargo 1,893, oil tanker 666, other 2,455

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs