Side-by-side comparison of South Korea and Japan across population, economy, quality of life, and more. Data updated 2026.
How do South Korea and Japan compare? South Korea, located in East and Southeast Asia, has a population of 51.5M and covers an area of 99,720 km². Its GDP (PPP) stands at $2.6T with a GDP per capita of $50,400. Japan, in East and Southeast Asia, has a population of 123.2M across 377,915 km², with a GDP of $5.7T and GDP per capita of $46,100. In terms of quality of life, South Korea has a life expectancy of 83.4 years compared to Japan's 85.2 years.
