Compare
Ireland vs Japan
How Ireland and Japan compare on 38 measures, from 1789 to 2025. The main differences:
- Life expectancy · In 2023, Japan was higher: 84.7 years against 82.4 years
- GDP per person · In 2025, Ireland was higher: $104,400 against $38,620
- Population · In 2023, Japan was higher: 124 million people against 5.2 million people
- Military spending · In 2025, Japan was higher: 1.41% of GDP against 0.22% of GDP
- CO₂ per person · In 2024, Japan was higher: 7.84 tonnes against 6.04 tonnes
Every measure
Health
- Life expectancyIreland: 82.4 years in 2023Japan: 84.7 years in 2023
- Child mortalityIreland: 0.4 per 100 live births in 2024Japan: 0.2 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityIreland: 2.9 per 1,000 live births in 2023Japan: 1.6 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- Safe drinking waterIreland: 96% in 2022Japan: 98.7% in 2022
- DepressionIreland: 4.25% in 2017Japan: 3.34% in 2017
- Suicide rateIreland: 8.4 per 100,000 people in 2017Japan: 15.7 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationIreland: 5.2 million people in 2023Japan: 124 million people in 2023
- Population growthIreland: 1.19% a year in 2023Japan: -0.48% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateIreland: 1.6 births per woman in 2023Japan: 1.21 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationIreland: 64.6% in 2025Japan: 92.3% in 2025
- Median ageIreland: 38.4 years in 2023Japan: 49 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overIreland: 15.5% in 2023Japan: 29.6% in 2023
- Net migration rateIreland: 8.4 per 1,000 people in 2023Japan: 1.4 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingIreland: 0.22% of GDP in 2025Japan: 1.41% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsIreland: $1.46B in 2025Japan: $59.5B in 2025
- Military spending per personIreland: $272 in 2025Japan: $504 in 2025
- Military share of state spendingIreland: 0.9% of government spending in 2025Japan: 3.8% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelIreland: 9,000 people in 2020Japan: 261,000 people in 2020
- National powerIreland: 0.05% of world capability in 2022Japan: 2.47% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersIreland: 0.37% of the labour force in 2020Japan: 0.38% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsIreland: 14 million TIV in 2025Japan: 1.72 billion TIV in 2025
- Arms exportsIreland: 24 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