Relative poverty: Share of population below 60% of the median in Japan
Japan: Relative poverty: Share of population below 60% of the median was 20.0% in 2020. ▼ Falling
Relative poverty: Share of population below 60% of the median 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 20.0% for relative poverty: share of population below 60% of the median in 2020.
The figure is up 1.5% on the previous year and up 6.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, relative poverty: share of population below 60% of the median in Japan peaked at 21.4% in 2008 and was at its lowest, 17.4%, in 2014.
That places Japan 42nd out of 120 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 13 years of available data.
Relative poverty: Share of population below 60% of the median in Japan, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 21.4% | — |
| 2009 | 20.0% | -6.5% |
| 2010 | 18.8% | -6.0% |
| 2011 | 20.9% | +11.2% |
| 2012 | 19.8% | -5.3% |
| 2013 | 19.6% | -1.0% |
| 2014 | 17.4% | -11.2% |
| 2015 | 17.5% | +0.6% |
| 2016 | 18.8% | +7.4% |
| 2017 | 18.7% | -0.5% |
| 2018 | 19.7% | +5.3% |
| 2019 | 19.7% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 20.0% | +1.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 20.7% | 20.0% | 21.4% | 2 |
| 2010s | 19.1% | 17.4% | 20.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 20.0% | 20.0% | 20.0% | 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 relative poverty: share of population below 60% of the median in Japan?
- Relative poverty: share of population below 60% of the median in Japan was 20.0% in 2020, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest relative poverty: share of population below 60% of the median recorded in Japan?
- The highest recorded value was 21.4% in 2008.
- What is the lowest relative poverty: share of population below 60% of the median recorded in Japan?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.4% in 2014.
- How does Japan rank for relative poverty: share of population below 60% of the median?
- Japan ranks 42nd out of 120 countries with data for 2020.
- Is relative poverty: share of population below 60% of the median rising or falling in Japan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- 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 Relative poverty: Share of population below 60% of the median. 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 60% of the median.