Share in poverty relative to different poverty lines in Japan
Japan: Share in poverty relative to different poverty lines was 1.2% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Share in poverty relative to different poverty lines in Japan, 2008–2020
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share in poverty relative to different poverty lines in Japan is 1.2%, measured in 2020.
That represents a change of down 7.7% on the previous year and up 100.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share in poverty relative to different poverty lines in Japan peaked at 1.4% in 2012 and was at its lowest, 0.4%, in 2015.
That places Japan 61st out of 120 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.
Share in poverty relative to different poverty lines 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 poverty relative to different poverty lines 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 poverty relative to different poverty lines in Japan?
- Share in poverty relative to different poverty lines 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 poverty relative to different poverty lines recorded in Japan?
- The highest recorded value was 1.4% in 2012.
- What is the lowest share in poverty relative to different poverty lines recorded in Japan?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.4% in 2015.
- How does Japan rank for share in poverty relative to different poverty lines?
- Japan ranks 61st out of 120 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share in poverty relative to different poverty lines 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 poverty relative to different poverty lines. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Percentage of population living in households with an income or consumption below $3 per day.