Japan vs Spain

Japan and Spain 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 2.5 times as many people as Spain: 123.4 million against 49.4 million in 2025.
• GDP per person in Spain ($38,627) is 7% higher than in Japan ($35,951) in 2025.
• The economy grew faster in Spain (2.8%) than in Japan (1.2%), a difference of 1.6 percentage points in 2025.
• Consumer prices rose faster in Japan (3.2%) than in Spain (2.7%), a difference of 0.5 percentage points in 2025.
• The unemployment rate was higher in Spain (10.4%) than in Japan (2.5%), a difference of 7.9 percentage points in 2025.
• Life expectancy at birth is about the same in Japan (84 years) and Spain (83.9 years) in 2024.
• The population of Japan is older: half of its people are over 49 years, against 44.9 years in Spain in 2023.
• A larger share of people used the internet in Spain (95.8%) than in Japan (85.5%), a difference of 10.3 percentage points in 2024.
• CO2 emissions per person in Japan (7.8 tonnes) are 73% higher than in Spain (4.5 tonnes) in 2024.
• Forest covers a larger share of the land in Japan (68.3%) than in Spain (38.2%), a difference of 30.1 percentage points in 2024.