Compare
Belgium vs Japan
How Belgium and Japan compare on 38 measures, from 1789 to 2025. The main differences:
- Life expectancy · In 2023, Japan was higher: 84.7 years against 82.1 years
- GDP per person · In 2025, Belgium was higher: $45,150 against $38,620
- Population · In 2023, Japan was higher: 124 million people against 11.7 million people
- Military spending · In 2025, Belgium was higher: 2.01% of GDP against 1.41% of GDP
- CO₂ per person · In 2024, Japan was higher: 7.84 tonnes against 7.31 tonnes
Every measure
Health
- Life expectancyBelgium: 82.1 years in 2023Japan: 84.7 years in 2023
- Child mortalityBelgium: 0.4 per 100 live births in 2024Japan: 0.2 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityBelgium: 3.3 per 1,000 live births in 2023Japan: 1.6 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- Safe drinking waterBelgium: 99.7% in 2022Japan: 98.7% in 2022
- DepressionBelgium: 4.11% in 2017Japan: 3.34% in 2017
- Suicide rateBelgium: 14.3 per 100,000 people in 2017Japan: 15.7 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationBelgium: 11.7 million people in 2023Japan: 124 million people in 2023
- Population growthBelgium: 0.25% a year in 2023Japan: -0.48% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateBelgium: 1.38 births per woman in 2023Japan: 1.21 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationBelgium: 87.7% in 2025Japan: 92.3% in 2025
- Median ageBelgium: 41.4 years in 2023Japan: 49 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overBelgium: 20.2% in 2023Japan: 29.6% in 2023
- Net migration rateBelgium: 3.6 per 1,000 people in 2023Japan: 1.4 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingBelgium: 2.01% of GDP in 2025Japan: 1.41% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsBelgium: $13.6B in 2025Japan: $59.5B in 2025
- Military spending per personBelgium: $1,237 in 2025Japan: $504 in 2025
- Military share of state spendingBelgium: 3.7% of government spending in 2025Japan: 3.8% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelBelgium: 24,000 people in 2020Japan: 261,000 people in 2020
- National powerBelgium: 0.22% of world capability in 2022Japan: 2.47% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersBelgium: 0.47% of the labour force in 2020Japan: 0.38% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsBelgium: 430 million TIV in 2025Japan: 1.72 billion TIV in 2025
- Arms exportsBelgium: 86 million TIV in 2025Japan: 28 million TIV in 2025
Climate
Technology and environment
Each country on its own
Good to know
- Sources: UN, Gapminder and UN IGME, WHO/UNICEF, IHME, World Bank, IMF, Our World in Data, V-Dem, UCDP, SIPRI, IISS, Correlates of War, ERA5, CMIP6, EDGAR, ITU and FAO. Each measure’s page names its own and what it counts.
- Values are drawn on today’s borders. Years without a published value are left empty, never filled in.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time