Japan vs Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is 3% larger than Japan.
JapanZimbabweJapan moved onto Zimbabwe · Equal-area projection
0.97×
Japan is 0.97× the area of Zimbabwe. Put the other way, Zimbabwe is 1.03× the size of Japan.
 Japan |  Zimbabwe | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaZimbabwe: 1.03× the area | 377,974 km²#62 of 194 | 390,757 km²#60 of 194 |
| Coastline | Coast, no land border | Landlocked |
| Land neighbours | 0 | 4 |
| People | ||
| PopulationJapan: 7.28× the population | 123,366,734#12 of 194 · 2025 | 16,950,795#74 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityJapan: 7.52× the density | 326 / km²#26 of 194 | 43 / km²#142 of 194 |
| Urban populationJapan: 2.28× the urban share | 92%#15 of 192 · 2025 | 41%#148 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateZimbabwe: 3.19× the births per woman | 1.15 per woman#182 of 192 · 2024 | 3.67 per woman#37 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthZimbabwe: 2.37 points higher | −0.49%#179 of 192 · 2025 | +1.88%#52 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateZimbabwe: 5.25× the birth rate | 5.7 per 1,000#189 of 192 · 2024 | 29.9 per 1,000#31 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateJapan: 1.77× the death rate | 13.3 per 1,000#9 of 192 · 2024 | 7.5 per 1,000#86 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Zimbabwe: 29.1 points higher | 11.2%#191 of 192 · 2025 | 40.3%#23 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Japan: 26.4 points higher | 30.0%#2 of 192 · 2025 | 3.6%#150 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationJapan: 4.3 per 1,000 higher | +1.1 per 1,000#51 of 192 · 2025 | −3.2 per 1,000#162 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroad | 0.00 per 1,000#174 of 190 · 2025 | 0.39 per 1,000#80 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyJapan: 20.9 years longer | 84.0 years#8 of 192 · 2024 | 63.1 years#175 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityZimbabwe: 34.7× the infant mortality | 1.8 per 1,000 births#187 of 191 · 2024 | 62.4 per 1,000 births#6 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsJapan: 18.9× the doctors per person | 2.65 per 1,000#70 of 178 · 2022 | 0.14 per 1,000#161 of 178 · 2023 |
| University enrolmentJapan: 8.38× the university enrolment | 64.5%#53 of 145 · 2023 | 7.7%#136 of 145 · 2024 |
| Human Development IndexJapan: 0.327 higher | 0.925#22 of 190 · 2023 | 0.598#150 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaJapan: 14.4× the income per person | $38,340#28 of 185 · 2025 | $2,660#142 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPJapan: 86.6× the economy | $4.44T2025 | $51.22B2025 |
| Income group | High income | Lower-middle income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Japan: 8.57× the output per person | $55,422#38 of 184 · 2025 | $6,470#143 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthZimbabwe: 6.9 points higher | +1.2%#151 of 187 · 2025 | +8.1%#9 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationZimbabwe: 101.5 points higher | +3.2%#86 of 176 · 2025 | +104.7%#3 of 176 · 2022 |
| UnemploymentZimbabwe: 3.72× the unemployment | 2.5%#156 of 178 · 2025 | 9.3%#38 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertyZimbabwe: 41× the share in extreme poverty | 1.2%#81 of 149 · 2020 | 49.2%#12 of 149 · 2019 |
| Income inequality (Gini)Zimbabwe: 18.0 higher | 32.3#100 of 149 · 2020 | 50.3#8 of 149 · 2019 |
| Jobs in agricultureZimbabwe: 51.5 points higher | 2.8% of jobs#148 of 178 · 2025 | 54.3% of jobs#19 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryJapan: 11.7 points higher | 23.2% of jobs#53 of 178 · 2025 | 11.5% of jobs#151 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesJapan: 39.8 points higher | 74.0% of jobs#33 of 178 · 2025 | 34.2% of jobs#159 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentZimbabwe: 0.9 points higher | 1.0% of GDP#126 of 184 · 2025 | 1.9% of GDP#96 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsJapan: 3.9 points higher | 22.0% of GDP#126 of 168 · 2024 | 18.1% of GDP#139 of 168 · 2024 |
| Military spendingJapan: 2.52× the military spending | 1.4% of GDP#91 of 155 · 2025 | 0.6% of GDP#139 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersJapan: 2.06× the share online | 86%#76 of 184 · 2024 | 42%#151 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsJapan: 1.89× the mobile subscriptions | 178 per 100#8 of 191 · 2023 | 94 per 100#137 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaJapan: 1.91× the forest share | 68% of land#17 of 192 · 2024 | 36% of land#81 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personJapan: 10.2× the CO₂ per person | 7.84 t a year#25 of 185 · 2024 | 0.77 t a year#136 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyZimbabwe: 73.6 points higher | 8.8%#149 of 190 · 2021 | 82.4%#13 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityJapan: 38.0 points higher | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 | 62.0%#161 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Zimbabwe: 1.3× the air pollution | 11.5 µg/m³#142 of 191 · 2023 | 15.0 µg/m³#118 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landJapan: 1.4 points higher | 29.7% of land#34 of 191 · 2025 | 28.3% of land#42 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landJapan: 0.6 points higher | 11.0% of land#93 of 190 · 2024 | 10.4% of land#97 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressZimbabwe: 1.26× the water stress | 36.6%#46 of 176 · 2022 | 46.1%#40 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationJapan: 2.54× the rain and snow | 1,668 mm#47 of 180 · 2022 | 657 mm#119 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityJapan: 2.13 higher | +1.26#15 of 193 · 2025 | −0.87#160 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionJapan: 2.74 higher | +1.45#20 of 193 · 2025 | −1.29#172 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateZimbabwe: 34× the homicide rate | 0.2 per 100,000#141 of 146 · 2023 | 6.8 per 100,000#38 of 146 · 2022 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Constitutional monarchyparliamentary constitutional monarchy | Presidential republic |
| Member of | OECD, G7, G20 | — |
| Capital | Tokyo | Harare |
| Currency | Japanese yen (JPY) | Zimbabwe ZiG (ZWG), United States dollar (USD) |
| Official languages | Japanese | English, Xhosa, Sesotho, Tswana, Chewa, Shona, Tsonga, Venda, Khoisan, Northern Ndebele, Tonga, Kalanga, Nambya, Ndau, Zimbabwe Sign Language, Barwe |
| Traffic drives | On the left | On the left |
| Time zone | UTC+9 | UTC+2 |
| Calling code | +81 | +263 |
| Region | Eastern Asia, Asia | Eastern Africa, Africa |
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; Zimbabwe at 19° S is stretched to 1.12×. 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 Zimbabwe?
- No. Japan is 3% smaller than Zimbabwe. Japan covers 377,974 km² and Zimbabwe covers 390,757 km².
- How many times does Japan fit into Zimbabwe?
- About 1.0 times: Zimbabwe has 1.03× the area of Japan.
- Why do Japan and Zimbabwe 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 Zimbabwe about 1.12×. 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 Zimbabwe?
- Japan: 123,366,734 people against 16,950,795. Density: Japan 326 per km², Zimbabwe 43 per km².
- Which is richer, Japan or Zimbabwe?
- By gross national income per person, Japan: $38,340 against $2,660 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 14.4× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Japan or Zimbabwe?
- In Japan: life expectancy at birth is 84.0 years, against 63.1 — 20.9 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Japan and Zimbabwe have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Japan: constitutional monarchy; Zimbabwe: presidential republic.