Iran vs Japan
Iran vs Japan: Government debt
Government debt in 2024: 31.2% of GDP in Iran and 213.6% of GDP in Japan, by IMF estimates. In 2024 the value was higher in Japan, by 182.4 percentage points, or 6.84 times that in Iran.
% of GDP · IMF
What the numbers say
- Japan has been higher in every year both have figures for since 1996.
- The IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) puts Iran at 43.4% of GDP and Japan at 188.9% of GDP in 2031.
Every year
% of GDP · IMF
| Year | Iran | Japan |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 31.2 | 213.6 |
| 2023 | 29.6 | 220.1 |
| 2022 | 34.5 | 228 |
| 2021 | 39.9 | 222.6 |
| 2020 | 47.1 | 228.8 |
| 2019 | 44.6 | 206.3 |
| 2018 | 41.6 | 203.7 |
| 2017 | 43.2 | 203.1 |
| 2016 | 46 | 202.1 |
| 2015 | 32.1 | 200.1 |
| 2014 | 10.9 | 203.6 |
| 2013 | 10.2 | 201.2 |
| 2012 | 11.8 | 197.1 |
| 2011 | 10.6 | 190.6 |
| 2010 | 12.8 | 178.6 |
| 2009 | 11.5 | 172.9 |
| 2008 | 10.6 | 153.6 |
| 2007 | 13.5 | 150.4 |
| 2006 | 15.2 | 152.1 |
| 2005 | 18.3 | 153.4 |
| 2004 | 21.1 | 148.8 |
| 2003 | 22 | 140.2 |
| 2002 | 23.4 | 134.6 |
| 2001 | 21 | 126.8 |
| 2000 | 18.2 | 118.5 |
| 1999 | 22.2 | 113.5 |
| 1998 | 29.6 | 101.6 |
| 1997 | 30.9 | 91.3 |
| 1996 | 29.3 | 85.3 |
| 1995 | – | 80.7 |
| 1994 | – | 73.3 |
| 1993 | – | 63.2 |
| 1992 | – | 57.9 |
| 1991 | – | 54.1 |
| 1990 | – | 54.8 |
| 1989 | – | 56.9 |
| 1988 | – | 62.4 |
| 1987 | – | 65.8 |
| 1986 | – | 64.2 |
| 1985 | – | 59.2 |
| 1984 | – | 56.9 |
| 1983 | – | 55.1 |
| 1982 | – | 50.1 |
| 1981 | – | 45.8 |
| 1980 | – | 41.4 |
IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) · 2025–2031
| Year | Iran | Japan |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 35.6 | 204.8 |
| 2026 | 39.1 | 199.4 |
| 2027 | 40.2 | 196.4 |
| 2028 | 40.8 | 193.8 |
| 2029 | 41.7 | 191.5 |
| 2030 | 42.7 | 190.1 |
| 2031 | 43.4 | 188.9 |
Each country on its own
Good to know
- What the government owes, as a share of the economy’s yearly output.
- Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook, October 2026.
- The dashed line is the IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026), a scenario rather than a forecast.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time
Iran vs Japan
Health
- Life expectancyIran: 77.7 years in 2023Japan: 84.7 years in 2023
- Child mortalityIran: 1.1 per 100 live births in 2024Japan: 0.2 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityIran: 9.9 per 1,000 live births in 2023Japan: 1.6 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- Safe drinking waterIran: 94.2% in 2022Japan: 98.7% in 2022
- DepressionIran: 5.12% in 2017Japan: 3.34% in 2017
- Suicide rateIran: 5.4 per 100,000 people in 2017Japan: 15.7 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationIran: 90.6 million people in 2023Japan: 124 million people in 2023
- Population growthIran: 1.12% a year in 2023Japan: -0.48% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateIran: 1.7 births per woman in 2023Japan: 1.21 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationIran: 77.4% in 2025Japan: 92.3% in 2025
- Median ageIran: 32.9 years in 2023Japan: 49 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overIran: 7.9% in 2023Japan: 29.6% in 2023
- Net migration rateIran: 2.9 per 1,000 people in 2023Japan: 1.4 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingIran: 2.09% of GDP in 2025Japan: 1.41% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsIran: $7.45B in 2025Japan: $59.5B in 2025
- Military spending per personIran: $80 in 2025Japan: $504 in 2025
- Military share of state spendingIran: 11.2% of government spending in 2025Japan: 3.8% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelIran: 650,000 people in 2020Japan: 261,000 people in 2020
- National powerIran: 1.64% of world capability in 2022Japan: 2.47% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersIran: 2.35% of the labour force in 2020Japan: 0.38% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsIran: 42 million TIV in 2024Japan: 1.72 billion TIV in 2025
- Arms exportsIran: 80 million TIV in 2025Japan: 28 million TIV in 2025