Born in Japan or in United States?
Two babies are born the same second, one in Japan and one in United States. This is what the numbers say about the two lives ahead of them.
- A baby born in Japan can expect to live 84.1 years; in United States, 79 years.
- A child in United States is 2.7 times as likely to die before the age of five as a child in Japan.
- Income per person in United States buys 1.6 times as much as in Japan.
- Each year about 703,190 babies are born in Japan and 3,622,919 in United States.
Side by side
| Indicator | Japan | United States | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health and survival | |||
| Life expectancy, women (years) | 87.1 | 81.4 | 75.9 |
| Life expectancy, men (years) | 81.1 | 76.5 | 71 |
| Babies who die before 1 (per 1,000) | 1.8 | 5.5 | 27.8 |
| Children who die before 5 (per 1,000) | 2.4 | 6.5 | 37.6 |
| Mothers who die in childbirth (per 100,000 births) | 3 | 17 | 189 |
| Adults living with HIV (%) | โ 0.3 | โ 0.1 | 0.7 |
| Adults who smoke (%) | 18 | 16 | 20 |
| Alcohol per adult (litres a year) | 6.4 | 9.9 | 4.6 |
| Road deaths (per 100,000) | 3.6 | 12.7 | 17 |
| Homicides (per 100,000) | 0.23 | 5.8 | 4.7 |
| Family and school | |||
| Children per woman | 1.15 | 1.63 | 2.85 |
| Women married before 18 (%) | โ 15 | โ 17 | 18 |
| Children in primary school (%) | โ 94 | 95 | 89 |
| Secondary school enrolment (%) | 100 | 97 | 81 |
| Higher education enrolment (%) | 64 | 79 | 48 |
| Children aged 7โ14 who work (%) | โ 11.5 | โ 14.3 | 11.9 |
| Money and work | |||
| Income per person (PPP) | $48,283 | $76,931 | $21,797 |
| Income inequality (Gini, 0โ100) | 32 | 42 | 34 |
| Living on under $3 a day (%) | 1.2 | 1.1 | 9.9 |
| Unemployment (%) | 2.5 | 4.2 | 5.1 |
| Jobs in farming (%) | 3 | 2 | 27 |
| Women in the workforce (%) | 56 | 56 | 48 |
| Health costs paid out of pocket (%) | 12 | 11 | 37 |
| Home and connection | |||
| Living in cities (%) | 92 | 80 | 58 |
| Access to electricity (%) | 100 | 100 | 92 |
| Safe drinking water (%) | 99 | 100 | 91 |
| Internet users (%) | 86 | 95 | 72 |
| Peace and wellbeing | |||
| Life satisfaction (0โ10) | 6.13 | 6.82 | 5.4 |
| Deaths in armed conflict (per 100,000 a year) | 0 | 0 | 2.43 |
| Refugees abroad (% of population) | 0 | 0 | 0.34 |
โ Estimated from the region
From 1960 to 2050
How life here has changed, and where UN projections expect it to go. The dashed part is a projection.
Japan: 1960: 67.8 โ 2026: 85.3 โ 2050: 88.4United States: 1960: 69.9 โ 2026: 79.1 โ 2050: 83.3
JapanUnited StatesWorld
Japan: 1960: 40 โ 2026: 2 โ 2050: 2United States: 1960: 30 โ 2026: 6 โ 2050: 5
JapanUnited StatesWorld
Japan: 1960: 2 โ 2026: 1.3 โ 2050: 1.4United States: 1960: 3.7 โ 2026: 1.6 โ 2050: 1.6
JapanUnited StatesWorld
Japan: 1960: 63 โ 2026: 92 โ 2050: 96United States: 1960: 70 โ 2026: 80 โ 2050: 86
JapanUnited StatesWorld
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Sources: World Bank (WDI), UN World Population Prospects, Our World in Data, World Happiness Report, UCDP and PRIO. Updated 2026-10-18.