Japan vs United States
United States is 26.0 times larger than Japan. Japan would fit into United States about 26 times.
JapanUnited StatesJapan moved onto United States · Equal-area projection
Remote islands and overseas parts not drawn; the figures include them
0.04×
Japan is 0.04× the area of United States. Put the other way, United States is 26.0× the size of Japan.
 Japan |  United States | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaUnited States: 26.0× the area | 377,974 km²#62 of 194 | 9,826,675 km²#3 of 194 |
| Coastline | Coast, no land border | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 0 | 2 |
| People | ||
| PopulationUnited States: 2.77× the population | 123,366,734#12 of 194 · 2025 | 341,784,857#3 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityJapan: 9.38× the density | 326 / km²#26 of 194 | 35 / km²#145 of 194 |
| Urban populationJapan: 1.15× the urban share | 92%#15 of 192 · 2025 | 80%#41 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateUnited States: 1.42× the births per woman | 1.15 per woman#182 of 192 · 2024 | 1.63 per woman#121 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthUnited States: 1.01 points higher | −0.49%#179 of 192 · 2025 | +0.52%#125 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateUnited States: 1.86× the birth rate | 5.7 per 1,000#189 of 192 · 2024 | 10.6 per 1,000#132 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateJapan: 1.48× the death rate | 13.3 per 1,000#9 of 192 · 2024 | 9.0 per 1,000#52 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15United States: 5.9 points higher | 11.2%#191 of 192 · 2025 | 17.1%#140 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Japan: 11.6 points higher | 30.0%#2 of 192 · 2025 | 18.4%#38 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationUnited States: 2.5 per 1,000 higher | +1.1 per 1,000#51 of 192 · 2025 | +3.6 per 1,000#26 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroad | 0.00 per 1,000#174 of 190 · 2025 | 0.01 per 1,000#155 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyJapan: 5.1 years longer | 84.0 years#8 of 192 · 2024 | 78.9 years#46 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityUnited States: 3.06× the infant mortality | 1.8 per 1,000 births#187 of 191 · 2024 | 5.5 per 1,000 births#139 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsUnited States: 1.39× the doctors per person | 2.65 per 1,000#70 of 178 · 2022 | 3.68 per 1,000#39 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolmentUnited States: 1.23× the university enrolment | 64.5%#53 of 145 · 2023 | 79.4%#27 of 145 · 2022 |
| Human Development IndexUnited States: 0.013 higher | 0.925#22 of 190 · 2023 | 0.938#16 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaUnited States: 2.32× the income per person | $38,340#28 of 185 · 2025 | $88,810#5 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPUnited States: 6.94× the economy | $4.44T2025 | $30.77T2025 |
| Income group | High income | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)United States: 1.62× the output per person | $55,422#38 of 184 · 2025 | $90,027#9 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthUnited States: 1.0 points higher | +1.2%#151 of 187 · 2025 | +2.2%#126 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationJapan: 0.3 points higher | +3.2%#86 of 176 · 2025 | +2.9%#92 of 176 · 2024 |
| UnemploymentUnited States: 1.68× the unemployment | 2.5%#156 of 178 · 2025 | 4.2%#110 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertyJapan: 1.09× the share in extreme poverty | 1.2%#81 of 149 · 2020 | 1.1%#82 of 149 · 2024 |
| Income inequality (Gini)United States: 9.5 higher | 32.3#100 of 149 · 2020 | 41.8#30 of 149 · 2024 |
| Jobs in agricultureJapan: 1.3 points higher | 2.8% of jobs#148 of 178 · 2025 | 1.5% of jobs#164 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryJapan: 4.3 points higher | 23.2% of jobs#53 of 178 · 2025 | 18.9% of jobs#90 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesUnited States: 5.6 points higher | 74.0% of jobs#33 of 178 · 2025 | 79.6% of jobs#16 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentThe same | 1.0% of GDP#126 of 184 · 2025 | 1.0% of GDP#126 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsJapan: 11.0 points higher | 22.0% of GDP#126 of 168 · 2024 | 11.0% of GDP#159 of 168 · 2024 |
| Military spendingUnited States: 2.21× the military spending | 1.4% of GDP#91 of 155 · 2025 | 3.1% of GDP#27 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersUnited States: 1.11× the share online | 86%#76 of 184 · 2024 | 95%#27 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsJapan: 1.58× the mobile subscriptions | 178 per 100#8 of 191 · 2023 | 113 per 100#102 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaJapan: 2.02× the forest share | 68% of land#17 of 192 · 2024 | 34% of land#92 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personUnited States: 1.74× the CO₂ per person | 7.84 t a year#25 of 185 · 2024 | 13.6 t a year#13 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyUnited States: 2.1 points higher | 8.8%#149 of 190 · 2021 | 10.9%#139 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityThe same | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Japan: 1.64× the air pollution | 11.5 µg/m³#142 of 191 · 2023 | 7.0 µg/m³#173 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landJapan: 16.8 points higher | 29.7% of land#34 of 191 · 2025 | 12.9% of land#131 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landUnited States: 5.6 points higher | 11.0% of land#93 of 190 · 2024 | 16.6% of land#64 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressJapan: 1.3× the water stress | 36.6%#46 of 176 · 2022 | 28.2%#57 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationJapan: 2.33× the rain and snow | 1,668 mm#47 of 180 · 2022 | 715 mm#111 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityJapan: 1.56 higher | +1.26#15 of 193 · 2025 | −0.30#122 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionJapan: 0.58 higher | +1.45#20 of 193 · 2025 | +0.87#39 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateUnited States: 29.0× the homicide rate | 0.2 per 100,000#141 of 146 · 2023 | 5.8 per 100,000#46 of 146 · 2023 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Constitutional monarchyparliamentary constitutional monarchy | Presidential republicconstitutional federal republic |
| Member of | OECD, G7, G20 | NATO, OECD, G7, G20 |
| Capital | Tokyo | Washington D.C. |
| Currency | Japanese yen (JPY) | United States dollar (USD) |
| Official languages | Japanese | English |
| Traffic drives | On the left | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+9 | UTC−5, summer time UTC−4 · UTC−10 to UTC−5, 6 time zones |
| Calling code | +81 | +1 |
| Region | Eastern Asia, Asia | Northern America, North America |
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; United States at 45° N is stretched to 1.98×. Here the two are distorted about the same amount, so Mercator gets this pair roughly right. 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 United States?
- No. Japan is 26.0 times smaller than United States. Japan covers 377,974 km² and United States covers 9,826,675 km².
- How many times does Japan fit into United States?
- About 26 times: United States has 26.0× the area of Japan.
- Why do Japan and United States 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 United States about 1.98×. For this pair the distortion is similar, so Mercator gets the comparison roughly right. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Japan or United States?
- United States: 341,784,857 people against 123,366,734. Density: Japan 326 per km², United States 35 per km².
- Which is richer, Japan or United States?
- By gross national income per person, United States: $88,810 against $38,340 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 2.32× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Japan or United States?
- In Japan: life expectancy at birth is 84.0 years, against 78.9 — 5.1 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Japan and United States have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Japan: constitutional monarchy; United States: presidential republic.