Number of people living in extreme poverty in Japan
Japan: Number of people living in extreme poverty was 124.75 million people in 2020. ▬ Flat
Number of people living in extreme poverty in Japan, 2008–2020
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
Japan recorded 124.75 million people for number of people living in extreme poverty in 2020. That is the lowest value across all 13 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.2% on the previous year and down 2.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of people living in extreme poverty in Japan peaked at 127.30 million people in 2010 and was at its lowest, 124.75 million people, in 2020.
Japan ranks 11th of 120 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
Number of people living in extreme poverty in Japan, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 126.65 million people | — |
| 2009 | 127.02 million people | +0.3% |
| 2010 | 127.30 million people | +0.2% |
| 2011 | 127.19 million people | -0.1% |
| 2012 | 125.84 million people | -1.1% |
| 2013 | 126.30 million people | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 126.39 million people | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 126.63 million people | +0.2% |
| 2016 | 126.19 million people | -0.4% |
| 2017 | 126.21 million people | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 125.54 million people | -0.5% |
| 2019 | 124.99 million people | -0.4% |
| 2020 | 124.75 million people | -0.2% |
Japan compared with similar countries
- Japan's 124.75 million people is above the median for high income countries, which is 9.58 million people, 13.0× the median. (42 countries reporting)
- Japan's 124.75 million people is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 71.66 million people, 1.7× the median. (11 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 126.84 million people | 126.65 million people | 127.02 million people | 2 |
| 2010s | 126.26 million people | 124.99 million people | 127.30 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 124.75 million people | 124.75 million people | 124.75 million people | 1 |
Countries ranked near Japan
More poverty & inequality data for Japan
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 5 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 1.21 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 6,245 kg per hectare (2023)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, annual growth rate -1.18 % change on previous year (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 34.86 (2022)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 34.9% (2022)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of people living in extreme poverty in Japan?
- Number of people living in extreme poverty in Japan was 124.75 million people in 2020, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest number of people living in extreme poverty recorded in Japan?
- The highest recorded value was 127.30 million people in 2010.
- What is the lowest number of people living in extreme poverty recorded in Japan?
- The lowest recorded value was 124.75 million people in 2020.
- How does Japan rank for number of people living in extreme poverty?
- Japan ranks 11th out of 120 countries with data for 2020.
- Is number of people living in extreme poverty rising or falling in Japan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Japan data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Number of people living in extreme poverty. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Number of people living in households with an income or consumption above $3 per day.