Japan vs Norway
Norway and Japan are almost exactly the same size.
JapanNorwayJapan moved onto Norway · Equal-area projection
Remote islands and overseas parts not drawn; the figures include them
0.98×
Japan is 0.98× the area of Norway. Put the other way, Norway is 1.02× the size of Japan.
 Japan |  Norway | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaAbout the same area | 377,974 km²#62 of 194 | 385,207 km²#61 of 194 |
| Coastline | Coast, no land border | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 0 | 3 |
| People | ||
| PopulationJapan: 22.0× the population | 123,366,734#12 of 194 · 2025 | 5,610,870#118 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityJapan: 22.4× the density | 326 / km²#26 of 194 | 15 / km²#179 of 194 |
| Urban populationJapan: 1.1× the urban share | 92%#15 of 192 · 2025 | 84%#34 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateNorway: 1.26× the births per woman | 1.15 per woman#182 of 192 · 2024 | 1.45 per woman#146 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthNorway: 1.18 points higher | −0.49%#179 of 192 · 2025 | +0.69%#115 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateNorway: 1.7× the birth rate | 5.7 per 1,000#189 of 192 · 2024 | 9.7 per 1,000#147 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateJapan: 1.68× the death rate | 13.3 per 1,000#9 of 192 · 2024 | 7.9 per 1,000#72 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Norway: 4.7 points higher | 11.2%#191 of 192 · 2025 | 15.9%#151 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Japan: 10.9 points higher | 30.0%#2 of 192 · 2025 | 19.1%#34 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationNorway: 4.2 per 1,000 higher | +1.1 per 1,000#51 of 192 · 2025 | +5.3 per 1,000#19 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroad | 0.00 per 1,000#174 of 190 · 2025 | 0.00 per 1,000#174 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyJapan: 0.8 years longer | 84.0 years#8 of 192 · 2024 | 83.2 years#13 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityNorway: 1.11× the infant mortality | 1.8 per 1,000 births#187 of 191 · 2024 | 2.0 per 1,000 births#182 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsNorway: 1.88× the doctors per person | 2.65 per 1,000#70 of 178 · 2022 | 4.97 per 1,000#11 of 178 · 2023 |
| University enrolmentNorway: 1.48× the university enrolment | 64.5%#53 of 145 · 2023 | 95.5%#10 of 145 · 2024 |
| Human Development IndexNorway: 0.045 higher | 0.925#22 of 190 · 2023 | 0.970#2 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaNorway: 2.54× the income per person | $38,340#28 of 185 · 2025 | $97,310#2 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPJapan: 8.36× the economy | $4.44T2025 | $530.76B2025 |
| Income group | High income | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Norway: 1.88× the output per person | $55,422#38 of 184 · 2025 | $104,044#5 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthJapan: 0.1 points higher | +1.2%#151 of 187 · 2025 | +1.1%#152 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationJapan: 0.2 points higher | +3.2%#86 of 176 · 2025 | +3.0%#90 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentNorway: 1.84× the unemployment | 2.5%#156 of 178 · 2025 | 4.6%#102 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertyJapan: 6.0× the share in extreme poverty | 1.2%#81 of 149 · 2020 | 0.2%#121 of 149 · 2023 |
| Income inequality (Gini)Japan: 5.8 higher | 32.3#100 of 149 · 2020 | 26.5#139 of 149 · 2023 |
| Jobs in agricultureJapan: 0.3 points higher | 2.8% of jobs#148 of 178 · 2025 | 2.5% of jobs#152 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryJapan: 5.4 points higher | 23.2% of jobs#53 of 178 · 2025 | 17.8% of jobs#108 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesNorway: 5.7 points higher | 74.0% of jobs#33 of 178 · 2025 | 79.7% of jobs#15 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentJapan: 2.3 points higher | 1.0% of GDP#126 of 184 · 2025 | -1.3% of GDP#174 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsNorway: 23.4 points higher | 22.0% of GDP#126 of 168 · 2024 | 45.4% of GDP#55 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spendingNorway: 2.33× the military spending | 1.4% of GDP#91 of 155 · 2025 | 3.3% of GDP#22 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersNorway: 1.16× the share online | 86%#76 of 184 · 2024 | 99%#7 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsJapan: 1.63× the mobile subscriptions | 178 per 100#8 of 191 · 2023 | 109 per 100#112 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaJapan: 2.06× the forest share | 68% of land#17 of 192 · 2024 | 33% of land#93 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personJapan: 1.09× the CO₂ per person | 7.84 t a year#25 of 185 · 2024 | 7.18 t a year#30 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyNorway: 52.6 points higher | 8.8%#149 of 190 · 2021 | 61.4%#36 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityThe same | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Japan: 2.09× the air pollution | 11.5 µg/m³#142 of 191 · 2023 | 5.5 µg/m³#180 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landJapan: 11.9 points higher | 29.7% of land#34 of 191 · 2025 | 17.8% of land#94 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landJapan: 8.8 points higher | 11.0% of land#93 of 190 · 2024 | 2.2% of land#159 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressJapan: 18.3× the water stress | 36.6%#46 of 176 · 2022 | 2.0%#148 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationJapan: 1.18× the rain and snow | 1,668 mm#47 of 180 · 2022 | 1,414 mm#64 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityJapan: 0.18 higher | +1.26#15 of 193 · 2025 | +1.08#29 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionNorway: 0.48 higher | +1.45#20 of 193 · 2025 | +1.93#6 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateNorway: 3.5× the homicide rate | 0.2 per 100,000#141 of 146 · 2023 | 0.7 per 100,000#123 of 146 · 2023 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Constitutional monarchyparliamentary constitutional monarchy | Constitutional monarchyparliamentary constitutional monarchy |
| Member of | OECD, G7, G20 | NATO, Schengen Area, OECD |
| Capital | Tokyo | Oslo |
| Currency | Japanese yen (JPY) | Norwegian krone (NOK) |
| Official languages | Japanese | Norwegian, Sámi, Nynorsk, Bokmål |
| Traffic drives | On the left | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+9 | UTC+1, summer time UTC+2 |
| Calling code | +81 | +47 |
| Region | Eastern Asia, Asia | Northern Europe, Europe |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Japan sits at about 37° N and is stretched to 1.59× its true area; Norway at 66° N is stretched to 6.22×. That difference is why Norway looks so much bigger than it is next to Japan. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Japan bigger than Norway?
- No. Japan and Norway are almost exactly the same size. Japan covers 377,974 km² and Norway covers 385,207 km².
- How many times does Japan fit into Norway?
- About 1.0 times: Norway has 1.02× the area of Japan.
- Why do Japan and Norway look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Japan is drawn about 1.59× its true area there and Norway about 6.22×. That is why Norway looks so much bigger than it really is next to Japan. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Japan or Norway?
- Japan: 123,366,734 people against 5,610,870. Density: Japan 326 per km², Norway 15 per km².
- Which is richer, Japan or Norway?
- By gross national income per person, Norway: $97,310 against $38,340 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 2.54× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Japan or Norway?
- In Japan: life expectancy at birth is 84.0 years, against 83.2 — 0.8 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Japan and Norway have?
- The same form of government, by constitution: constitutional monarchy (CIA World Factbook).