Italy vs Japan

Italy and Japan compared on 10 key figures from official sources. Each value is the latest one published for that country, so the year is shown with it.

• Japan has about 2.1 times as many people as Italy: 123.4 million against 58.9 million in 2025.
• GDP per person in Italy ($43,309) is 20% higher than in Japan ($35,951) in 2025.
• The economy grew faster in Japan (1.2%) than in Italy (0.5%), a difference of 0.7 percentage points in 2025.
• Consumer prices rose faster in Japan (3.2%) than in Italy (1.5%), a difference of 1.7 percentage points in 2025.
• The unemployment rate was higher in Italy (6.4%) than in Japan (2.5%), a difference of 3.9 percentage points in 2025.
• Life expectancy at birth is about the same in Italy (84 years) and Japan (84 years) in 2024.
• The population of Japan is older: half of its people are over 49 years, against 47.5 years in Italy in 2023.
• A larger share of people used the internet in Italy (89.2%) than in Japan (85.5%), a difference of 3.7 percentage points in 2024.
• CO2 emissions per person in Japan (7.8 tonnes) are 53% higher than in Italy (5.1 tonnes) in 2024.
• Forest covers a larger share of the land in Japan (68.3%) than in Italy (31.8%), a difference of 36.5 percentage points in 2024.