Indicators of economy in Japan

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

Overall, the gross domestic product in Japan in 2020 decreased moderatly from 5.123 trillion US dollars to 5.040 trillion US dollars. Certainly, there have been shifts in some sectors of the economy, but a drop of 1.6 percent is still comparatively good this year. Numerous countries suffered more substantial losses. The tourism sector alone slumped by around 77 percent. The unemployment rate rose from 2.4 to 2.8 percent. The inflation rate fell from 0.5 percent previously to zero percent by the end of 2020.

In 2021, gross domestic product declined again, falling to 4.941 trillion U.S. dollars (=96.4% of 2019).

Income and purchasing power

The average monthly income in Japan is 3,554 US Dollar per capita. In the USA, the figure is 5,911 US Dollar. However, the prices of consumer goods are also around 10.2 percent lower than in the USA. If you compare income and price levels, the result is a more expensive life in Japan than in the United States. The bottom line is that the costs do not offset the lower income, and you get about 33.1 percent less.

However, it is also important to remember that this is a purely statistical model. Both the labor output and the type and quality of the goods received always correspond to the national average on both sides of the equation - so they do not necessarily have to match. Here you can also find an international comparison of cost of living and purchasing power.

Unemployment rates in percentages 1991 - 2022

Economic performance 2021

In the Global Innovation Index, Japan ranked 13th in 2022 with 53.6 points. The index is calculated annually by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and most recently included 132 countries. The top country was Switzerland with 64.6 points. Out of the 2,000 largest listed companies in the world, 196 originate from Japan. This is determined annually in the Forbes Global 2000 list. The 10 largest companies in the country in 2022 were:

Rank 10: Toyota Motor (Toyota)
Rank 44: Softbank (Tokyo)
Rank 53: Nippon Telegraph & Tel (Tokyo)
Rank 56: Sony (Tokyo )
Rank 58: Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (Tokyo)
Rank 103: Honda Motor (Tokyo)
Rank 104: Mitsubishi (Tokyo)
Rank 127: Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (Tokyo)
Rank 140: Mitsui (Tokyo)
Rank 141: Itochu (Tokyo)

Development of gross domestic product in billions of USD 1960 - 2021

Imports and Exports 2021

Development of imports and exports in billions of USD 1996 - 2021