Share in extreme poverty vs. poverty gap index in Japan
Japan: Share in extreme poverty vs. poverty gap index was 1.2% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Share in extreme poverty vs. poverty gap index in Japan, 2008–2020
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Japan recorded 1.2% for share in extreme poverty vs. poverty gap index in 2020.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 7.7% on the previous year and up 100.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share in extreme poverty vs. poverty gap index in Japan peaked at 1.4% in 2012 and was at its lowest, 0.4%, in 2015.
Japan ranks 61st of 120 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.
Share in extreme poverty vs. poverty gap index in Japan, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 1.1% | — |
| 2009 | 0.8% | -27.3% |
| 2010 | 0.6% | -25.0% |
| 2011 | 0.5% | -16.7% |
| 2012 | 1.4% | +180.0% |
| 2013 | 0.9% | -35.7% |
| 2014 | 0.7% | -22.2% |
| 2015 | 0.4% | -42.9% |
| 2016 | 0.7% | +75.0% |
| 2017 | 0.6% | -14.3% |
| 2018 | 1.0% | +66.7% |
| 2019 | 1.3% | +30.0% |
| 2020 | 1.2% | -7.7% |
Japan compared with similar countries
- Japan's 1.2% is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.4%, 3.0× the median. (42 countries reporting)
- Japan's 1.2% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.9%, 1.3× the median. (11 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share in extreme poverty vs. poverty gap index in Japan changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | +180.0% | 0.5% | 1.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1.0% | 0.8% | 1.1% | 2 |
| 2010s | 0.8% | 0.4% | 1.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.2% | 1.2% | 1.2% | 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 share in extreme poverty vs. poverty gap index in Japan?
- Share in extreme poverty vs. poverty gap index in Japan was 1.2% in 2020, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share in extreme poverty vs. poverty gap index recorded in Japan?
- The highest recorded value was 1.4% in 2012.
- What is the lowest share in extreme poverty vs. poverty gap index recorded in Japan?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.4% in 2015.
- How does Japan rank for share in extreme poverty vs. poverty gap index?
- Japan ranks 61st out of 120 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share in extreme poverty vs. poverty gap index rising or falling in Japan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 100.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- 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 Share in extreme poverty vs. poverty gap index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 13 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Percentage of population living in households with an income or consumption below $3 per day.