Polity · 1953 CE – present
Japan
日本 · Nihon-koku/Nippon-koku · Nihon/Nippon
- Peak recorded area
- 413,075 km²
- 1973 CE
- Rulers on record
- 7
- from 1989 CE
- Data series
- 481
- 1953 CE–2025 CE
Overview
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asian mainland, it is bordered to the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea in the south. The Japanese archipelago consists of four major islands alongside 14,121 smaller islands.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
3 dated territorial extents on record from Cliopatria. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before the last complete year, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
6 of 76 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Population217 obs · 1949 CE–2025 CE | 123.1Mpersons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy165 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 85years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Net Migration141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 140.6Kpersons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Population Growth141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | -0.538% annual2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Female140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 88.02years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Male140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 81.99years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
Economy
6 of 156 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| GDP Current Usd112 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | 4.4Tcurrent US$2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| GDP per capita74 obs · 1949 CE–2022 CE | 38.3K2011 int'l $2022 CE · Maddison Project Database 2023 |
| GDP per capita PPP71 obs · 1949 CE–2019 CE | 38.5Kint'l $ (inflation adj.)2019 CE · Gapminder |
| Inflation66 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | 3.17% annual2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Fao Barley Area Harvested64 obs · 1961 CE–2024 CE | 65Kha2024 CE · FAOSTAT |
| Fao Barley Production64 obs · 1961 CE–2024 CE | 185.6Ktonnes2024 CE · FAOSTAT |
Military
6 of 74 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Military Expenditure % GDP66 obs · 1960 CE–2024 CE | 1.37% of GDP2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| CINC Score65 obs · 1952 CE–2016 CE | 0.033CINC (share of world capability)2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Energy Consumption65 obs · 1952 CE–2016 CE | 716.1Mcoal-ton equivalents2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Iron Steel Production65 obs · 1952 CE–2016 CE | 104.8Mtons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Expenditure65 obs · 1952 CE–2016 CE | 47.3Bcurrent USD2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Expenditure Usd65 obs · 1960 CE–2024 CE | 55.3Bcurrent US$2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Territory & resources
6 of 87 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Arable Land %126 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 11.09% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Coal Production76 obs · 1949 CE–2024 CE | 3.65TWh2024 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Forest Area %68 obs · 1990 CE–2023 CE | 68.4% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Gas Production68 obs · 1949 CE–2016 CE | 33.77TWh2016 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Oil Production68 obs · 1949 CE–2016 CE | 6.2TWh2016 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Agricultural Land %63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 12.64%2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Governance
6 of 28 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Electoral Democracy Index76 obs · 1949 CE–2024 CE | 0.82index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Liberal Democracy Index76 obs · 1949 CE–2024 CE | 0.734index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Participatory Democracy Index76 obs · 1949 CE–2024 CE | 0.526index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Regime Type76 obs · 1949 CE–2024 CE | 3RoW index (0-3)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Rule Of Law Index76 obs · 1949 CE–2024 CE | 0.949index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Polity261 obs · 1952 CE–2012 CE | 10index (-10 to 10)2012 CE · Clio-Infra |
Development
6 of 60 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Freedom Of Expression Index76 obs · 1949 CE–2024 CE | 0.849index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Tech Telephones54 obs · 1949 CE–2002 CE | 71Mcount2002 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Electricity Production53 obs · 1949 CE–2001 CE | 1.0TGWh2001 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Mobile Subscriptions Per 10052 obs · 1960 CE–2023 CE | 178.43per_1002023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Tech Commercial Vehicles49 obs · 1949 CE–1997 CE | 19.9Kcount1997 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Passenger Cars49 obs · 1949 CE–1997 CE | 48.6Mcount1997 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
Rulers
7 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- AkihitoHead of State1989 CE – 2019 CE
- Shinzō AbeHead of Government2012 CE – 2020 CE
- NaruhitoHead of State2019 CE –
- Yoshihide SugaHead of Government2020 CE – 2021 CE
- Fumio KishidaHead of Government2021 CE – 2024 CE
- Shigeru IshibaHead of Government2024 CE – 2025 CE
- Sanae TakaichiHead of Government2025 CE –
Language & currency
- Official & national languages
- Japanese
- Currency
- yen (JPY)
Memberships
- League of NationsLoNInternational organisation · founding member1920 CE – 1933 CE
- United States of America–Japan Defense Pact (1951)Military alliance · member1951 CE –
- United NationsUNInternational organisation · member1956 CE –
- G7G7Political union · founding member1975 CE –
- G20G20Political union · founding member1999 CE –
- Quadrilateral Security DialogueQUADMilitary alliance · founding member2007 CE –
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
CHAT (Comin-Hobijn)2009 (FinalCHAT_72909)
Comin, D. & Hobijn, B. (2009). The CHAT Dataset. NBER Working Paper 15319.
NBER research data, freely downloadable
Clio-Infra2017 datasets
Clio-Infra project (2017). Reconstructions of global inequality and well-being. International Institute of Social History.
Academic use, attribution
Seshat Global History Databank. Cliopatria: a historical basemap of polity borders (cliopatria.geojson).
Correlates of War NMC v6.0v6.0
Singer, J.D. (1987). National Material Capabilities Data (NMC), v6.0. Correlates of War Project.
Free academic use, citation
FAOSTAT2024 release
FAO (2024). FAOSTAT Statistical Database. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.
CC BY 4.0
Gapminderv14 / systema globalis
Gapminder Foundation. Gapminder systema globalis dataset.
CC BY 4.0
Maddison Project Database 20232023
Bolt, J. & van Zanden, J.L. (2024). Maddison Project Database 2023. University of Groningen GGDC.
CC BY 4.0
Our World in Data (2024). Energy dataset. Based on Energy Institute & Ember.
CC BY 4.0
UN World Population Prospects 20242024
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024.
CC BY 3.0 IGO
V-Dem v15v15
Coppedge, M. et al. (2025). V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v15. Varieties of Democracy Project.
Free academic/non-commercial use, attribution
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
World Bank World Development Indicators2024 release
World Bank (2024). World Development Indicators. Washington, DC.
CC BY 4.0