Australia
Japan

Land Area

Australia flag Australia
7,692,024 km² Largest
Japan flag Japan
377,975 km² 4.9% of largest
Australia is 20.35× larger than Japan

Population

Japan
Japan flag LARGEST
123.37M PEOPLE
Australia
Australia flag 22.4% OF LARGEST
27.61M PEOPLE
Japan flag Japan 123.37M
LARGEST 326.4/km²
Australia flag Australia 27.61M
22.4% of largest 3.6/km²
Japan has 4.47× the population of Australia

GDP

Japan
Japan flag LARGEST
$4.44T
Australia
Australia flag 40.6% OF LARGEST
$1.8T
Japan flag Japan $4.44T
LARGEST
Australia flag Australia $1.8T
40.6% of largest

Armed Forces

Active Personnel

Japan
Japan flag LARGEST
247.15K TROOPS
Australia
Australia flag 23.9% OF LARGEST
59K TROOPS
Japan flag Japan 247.15Ktroops
LARGEST
Australia flag Australia 59Ktroops
23.9% of largest
Japan has 4.19× the active personnel of Australia

Air Force

Japan
Japan flag LARGEST
1.45K AIRCRAFT
Australia
Australia flag 32.1% OF LARGEST
465 AIRCRAFT
Japan flag Japan 1.45Kaircraft
LARGEST
Australia flag Australia 465aircraft
32.1% of largest
Japan has 3.12× the aircraft of Australia

Wealth

Gold Reserves

Japan
Japan flag LARGEST
846.0 Metric Tonnes
Australia
Australia flag 8.4% OF LARGEST
70.9 Metric Tonnes

Foreign-Exchange Reserves

Japan
Japan flag LARGEST
$1.16T Reserves · excl. gold
Australia
Australia flag 4.7% OF LARGEST
$54B Reserves · excl. gold

Billionaires

Australia
Australia flag MOST
47 billionaires
Japan
Japan flag 87% OF MOST
41 billionaires

Oil

Proven Reserves

Australia
Australia flag LARGEST
2.4 Billion barrels
Japan
Japan flag 1.7% OF LARGEST
0.0 Billion barrels

Production & Consumption

Australia
Australia flag NET IMPORTER
Production 0.3M b/d
Consumption 1.1M b/d
−0.7M b/d net
Japan
Japan flag NET IMPORTER
Production 0.0M b/d
Consumption 3.3M b/d
−3.3M b/d net

Trade (Import/Export)

Australia
Australia flag $432.6B
Exports
$432.6B
Imports
$395.8B
Trade Balance
+$36.9B Trade Surplus
Japan
Japan flag $917.0B
Exports
$917.0B
Imports
$952.0B
Trade Balance
$-35.0B Trade Deficit

Drinks per Person

Coffee kg / person / yr
Japan flag
Japan consumption
3.6kg
Australia flag
Australia consumption
3.0kg
Tea kg / person / yr
Japan flag
Japan consumption
0.9kg
Australia flag
Australia consumption
0.6kg
Beer litres / person / yr
Australia flag
Australia consumption
75L
Japan flag
Japan consumption
38L
Wine litres / person / yr
Australia flag
Australia consumption
26L
Japan flag
Japan consumption
4L
Alcohol litres pure alcohol / person / yr
Australia flag
Australia consumption
10.5L
Japan flag
Japan consumption
6.3L
Smoking % of adults 15+ who smoke
Japan flag
Japan
17.1%
Australia flag
Australia
11.2%
Per-capita — consumption where available, else FAOSTAT supply · alcohol = litres of pure alcohol; smoking = % of adults 15+ (WHO)

Olympic Medals

Japan flag
Japan
211 Gold
198 Silver
235 Bronze
644 Total Medals
☀ Summer: 544 ❄ Winter: 100
Australia flag
Australia
189 Gold
201 Silver
233 Bronze
623 Total Medals
☀ Summer: 598 ❄ Winter: 25

Religious Demographics

Religious Distribution

Religious Composition by Country

Australia flag Australia
Japan flag Japan

Age Demographics

Median Age

Japan flag Japan
OLDEST
48.6 YEARS
10 30 50 70
Australia flag Australia
YOUNGEST
37.5 YEARS
10 30 50 70

Age Distribution

Population breakdown by age bracket (percentage)

Demographic Insights
Age Gap Japan is 11.1 years older (median) than Australia
Youth Population Australia has the highest youth population at 38% (under 30)
Elderly Population Japan has the highest elderly population at 34.0% (60+)

Global Statistics

Metric
Australia flag Australia
Japan flag Japan
Travel & Mobility
Passport Power visa-free destinations
189
193
Tourist Arrivals per year
9.3M
25.1M
Culture & Prestige
Nobel Laureates all-time
13
29
3-Michelin-Star Restaurants current guide
0
20
UNESCO Heritage Sites inscribed sites
21
26
Figures as of 2026. Sources: IMF, EIA/OPEC, Henley Passport Index, UNWTO, Forbes, Michelin Guide, Nobel Foundation, UNESCO World Heritage Centre.

Cost of Living

Metric
All indices use New York City as base (100) Lower values indicate lower costs.
Australia flag Australia
Japan flag Japan
Cost of Living Index
77.0
83.3
Rent Index
33.5
28.5
Groceries Index
76.5
86.2
Restaurant Price Index
73.0
52.0
Local Purchasing Power
96.0
87.0
Common Expenses Comparison
Meal at Inexpensive Restaurant (USD) $18 $9
Three-Course Meal for 2 (USD) $80 $45
Monthly Rent - City Center (USD) $1,600 $1,000
Monthly Rent - Outside Center (USD) $1,200 $650
Monthly Utilities (USD) $160 $130
Internet (60 Mbps, USD) $60 $35
Monthly Public Transport Pass (USD) $100 $90

Health

Healthcare spending, capacity and outcomes. Sources: World Bank / WHO — the year tag shows each figure’s vintage; “—” means the country doesn’t report that metric.

Health spending / person

Australia
$6,980 2023
Japan
$3,638 2023

Physicians per 1,000

Australia
4.1 2022
Japan
2.7 2022

Hospital beds per 1,000

Japan
12.6 2022
Australia
3.8 2016

Diabetes prevalence

Japan
8.1% 2024
Australia
7.4% 2024

Obesity prevalence

Australia
30.6% 2024
Japan
5.9% 2024

Suicide rate per 100k

Japan
17.4 2021
Australia
13.1 2021

Want the long view?

GDP, population, reserves & trade for Australia vs Japan — charted over the decades.

View Historical Data

Basic Information

Metric Australia Japan
Population 27614411 123366734
Area (sq km) 7692024 377975
Capital Canberra Tokyo
Official Language English Japanese
Currency Australian Dollar (AUD) Japanese Yen (JPY)
Government Type Federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy

Military Strength

Metric Australia Japan
Active Personnel 59,000 247,150
Reserve Personnel 28,850 56,000
Total Military Personnel 88,450 303,150
Defense Budget (USD) $31,800,000,000 $49,100,000,000
Tanks 59 579
Armored Vehicles 1,426 3,137
Self-Propelled Artillery 54 166
Towed Artillery 75 492
Rocket Projectors 6 99

Economy

Metric Australia Japan
GDP (USD) $1,798,518,933,689 $4,435,162,999,977
GDP Per Capita (USD) $65,130 $35,951
Unemployment Rate (%) 4.1% 2.5%
GINI Index (Income Inequality) 33.8 32.3
Currency Australian Dollar (AUD) Japanese Yen (JPY)
Loading current exchange rates…

Interesting Comparisons & Trivia

Did You Know?

Australia is 20.4 times larger in area than Japan. That's a massive difference!
Japan has 4.5 times more people than Australia.
Australia has the highest GDP per capita at $65,130 among the selected countries.
Japan has the largest economy with a GDP of $4.44 trillion.
Japan has the largest active military personnel with 247,150 troops.
Japan has the largest air force with 1,449 aircraft.
Japan has the largest navy with 155 vessels.

Australia vs Japan: Key Comparisons

Economy: Japan's GDP of $4.4T is 2.5x larger than Australia's $1.8T — both among the world's largest economies.
Population: Japan's population of 123M is 4.5x larger than Australia's 28M.
Area: Australia covers 7,692,024 km², making it 20.4x larger than Japan.
Military: Japan fields 250Thousand active troops vs Australia's 59Thousand.
Trade: Australia runs a trade surplus of $37B while Japan has a trade deficit of $35B.
Life Expectancy: Japan leads with a life expectancy of 84 years vs Australia's 83.
Data compiled from World Bank, IMF, Global Firepower, SIPRI, Numbeo, and Pew Research. Last updated August 2026. Sources & methodology