Proportion of population below international poverty line (%) in Japan
Japan: Proportion of population below international poverty line (%) was 1.2% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Proportion of population below international poverty line in Japan, 2008–2020
Source: United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
Analysis
In 2020, proportion of population below international poverty line in Japan stood at 1.2%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 7.7% on the previous year and up 100.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, proportion of population below international poverty line in Japan peaked at 1.4% in 2012 and was at its lowest, 0.4%, in 2015.
That places Japan 67th out of 133 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.
Proportion of population below international poverty line (%) in Japan, year by year
| Year | Value | 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. (41 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 Proportion of population below international poverty line (%) 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 proportion of population below international poverty line in Japan?
- Proportion of population below international poverty line in Japan was 1.2% in 2020, according to United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
- What is the highest proportion of population below international poverty line recorded in Japan?
- The highest recorded value was 1.4% in 2012.
- What is the lowest proportion of population below international poverty line recorded in Japan?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.4% in 2015.
- How does Japan rank for proportion of population below international poverty line?
- Japan ranks 67th out of 133 countries with data for 2020.
- Is proportion of population below international poverty line 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 United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database, published as part of Proportion of population below international poverty line (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 13 observations, free to reuse under UN SDG Global Database (open, attribution requested).