Country comparison
Japan vs South Korea
Japan is 3.8× the size of South Korea. Japan has 2.4× the population of South Korea. Japan has 23× as many castles and palaces as South Korea.
Side by side
| Japan | Category | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
| 377,975 km² more | Area (2024) Japan: 3.8× more World Bank (CC BY 4.0) | 100,460 km² |
| 123 million more | Population (2025) Japan: 2.4× more World Bank (CC BY 4.0) | 51.7 million |
| 340 people/km² | Population density (2024) South Korea: 1.6× more World Bank (CC BY 4.0) | 530 people/km² |
| US$ 35,951 | GDP per capita (2025) World Bank (CC BY 4.0) | US$ 36,227 more |
| 84 years more | Life expectancy (2024) World Bank (CC BY 4.0) | 83.6 years |
| 86% | Internet users (2024) South Korea: 1.1× more World Bank (CC BY 4.0) | 98% more |
| 49 years | Median age (2023) Japan: 1.1× more Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0) | 44.5 years |
| 1.15 births per woman | Fertility rate (2024) Japan: 1.5× more World Bank (CC BY 4.0) | 0.75 births per woman |
| 7.8 t less | CO₂ emissions per capita (2024) South Korea: 1.4× more World Bank (CC BY 4.0) | 11.4 t |
| 163 more | Castles, fortresses and palaces Japan: 23× more Wikidata (CC0 1.0) | 7 |
| 8 | Ghost stories Japan: 8× more | 1 |
| 5 | UFO cases Japan: 5× more | 1 |
| 43 | VPN providers with servers in the country Japan: 1.4× more VPN Map (Ominuvo) (CC BY 4.0) | 30 |
| Japanese | Official languages Unicode CLDR (Unicode License v3) | Korean |
| Japanese yen (JPY) | Currency ISO 4217 | South Korean won (KRW) |
| Type A, B · 100 V | Plugs and voltage No shared plug type · different voltage | Type C, F · 220 V |
| UTC+9 | Time zone of the capital Same time IANA tz database (public domain) | UTC+9 |
Values link to the country pages in the Ominuvo series maps. Area: World Bank data (indicator AG.SRF.TOTL.K2: land and inland water, source FAO, CC BY 4.0); “approx.” – no such data for the country: area of the map outline (Natural Earth 1:50m), accurate to about 3%.
More comparisons: Japan
Source: World Bank – Surface area (AG.SRF.TOTL.K2), FAO (CC BY 4.0), World Bank – WDI: UN World Population Prospects (CC BY 4.0), World Bank – FAO population estimates, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (CC BY 4.0), World Bank – Country official statistics, National Statistical Organizations and/or Central Banks (CC BY 4.0), World Bank – World Population Prospects, United Nations (CC BY 4.0), World Bank – World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union… (CC BY 4.0), Our World in Data – UN, World Population Prospects (CC BY 4.0), World Bank – EDGAR (Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research) Community GHG Database, Joint… (CC BY 4.0), Wikidata (CC0 1.0), VPN Map (Ominuvo) (CC BY 4.0), Unicode CLDR (Unicode License v3), ISO 4217, IANA tz database (public domain), Natural Earth (public domain). Data from the Ominuvo series maps (index of 2026-11-01); details and licences on the map pages.