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Points Frog guide

Ireland vs Japan

Ireland's GDP per person at PPP is 2.8 times Japan's, and a dollar goes 31% further in Japan.

Compare two countries

A UN member state, or a continent's average.

The page updates.

In US dollars, spent in each country.

$100 spent in Ireland buys about what

$76.45

buys in Japan, at purchasing power parity

And $100 in Japan buys what $131 buys in Ireland. Prices across Ireland's economy average 131% of Japan's, so a dollar goes 31% further in Japan.

World Bank figures for 2025 unless another year is shown
MeasureIrelandJapan
Economy
Population5.48 million123.4 million
GDPUS dollars, market exchange rates$722 billion$4.44 trillion
GDP per personUS dollars$131,592$35,951
GDP per person at PPPInternational dollars$155,089$55,422
Prices
Price levelUS prices = 100%85%65%
A US dollar goes as far as$1.18 in the US$1.54 in the US
Income
Median income or consumptionPer person, international dollars$50.49 a day2023 survey · $18,429 a year · income$42.17 a day2020 survey · $15,392 a year · income
More figures: GDP at PPP, conversion factor and GNI
Gross national income is what residents earn, at home and abroad
MeasureIrelandJapan
GDP at PPPInternational dollars$851 billion$6.84 trillion
PPP conversion factorLocal currency per international dollar0.7509Euro97.08Japanese yen
GNI per person, Atlas methodUS dollars$87,360$38,340
GNI per person at PPPInternational dollars$106,310$58,920

World Bank income groups: Ireland, high income; Japan, high income.

GDP per person at PPP · 2000 to 2025, in constant 2021 international dollarsAdjusted for inflation, so recent years read lower than the current-dollar figures above.
  • Ireland
  • Japan
Year-by-year table
YearIrelandJapan
2025$131,338$48,283
2024$118,833$47,480
2023$117,660$47,387
2022$123,007$46,819
2021$116,703$45,999
2020$101,793$44,213
2019$96,206$46,055
2018$93,116$46,133
2017$87,732$45,693
2016$80,760$44,927
2015$80,816$44,589
2014$65,463$43,754
2013$60,285$43,304
2012$59,303$42,395
2011$59,797$41,641
2010$59,107$41,647
2009$58,447$40,000
2008$62,214$42,519
2007$66,476$43,042
2006$64,975$42,359
2005$63,580$41,740
2004$61,453$40,987
2003$58,608$40,152
2002$57,828$39,690
2001$55,535$39,749
2000$53,583$39,732

World Bank figures, updated October 8, 2026. An educational estimate, not financial advice.

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Ireland vs Japan: questions

Is Ireland richer than Japan?

Ireland's GDP per person at purchasing power parity was $155,089 in 2025, 2.8 times Japan's $55,422, so Ireland is the richer of the two by this measure. At market exchange rates, GDP per person was $131,592 in Ireland and $35,951 in Japan. Ireland ranks 3rd and Japan 38th of the 186 countries with figures.

How far does a dollar go in Ireland compared with Japan?

Prices across Ireland's economy averaged 131% of Japan's in 2025, so $100 spent in Ireland buys about what $76.45 buys in Japan, and a dollar goes 31% further in Japan. Against the United States, prices averaged 85% of US prices in Ireland and 65% in Japan. The World Bank's PPP conversion factor was 0.7509 (Euro) per international dollar in Ireland and 97.08 (Japanese yen) in Japan.

How big is Ireland's economy compared with Japan's?

In 2025, Ireland's GDP was $722 billion at market exchange rates and $851 billion at PPP; Japan's GDP was $4.44 trillion at market exchange rates and $6.84 trillion at PPP. At market rates Ireland's economy is 16% of Japan's, and at PPP 12%. Ireland has 5.48 million people and Japan 123.4 million.

Do people earn more in Ireland or Japan?

In 2025, gross national income per person by the World Bank's Atlas method was $87,360 in Ireland and $38,340 in Japan; at PPP it was $106,310 and $58,920. The World Bank classes both as high income. In household surveys, the median person's income was $50.49 a day ($18,429 a year) in Ireland, from a 2023 survey, and $42.17 a day ($15,392 a year) in Japan, from a 2020 survey, in 2021 international dollars.

How has GDP per person changed since 2000?

After inflation, GDP per person at PPP grew 145% in Ireland from 2000 to 2025, 3.7% a year, and grew 22% in Japan, 0.8% a year. Ireland's was 1.35 times Japan's in 2000 and 2.7 times in 2025.

What is purchasing power parity (PPP)?

A rate that converts money between countries by what it buys rather than by the exchange rate. An international dollar buys in any country what a US dollar buys in the United States. The World Bank's International Comparison Program prices the same goods and services around the world to set these rates, so GDP at PPP compares how much economies actually produce, without exchange rate swings or price gaps.

What's the difference between GDP and GNI?

GDP is the value of everything produced inside a country. GNI, gross national income, adds income residents earn abroad and takes away income sent to foreign owners and workers. They differ most where foreign companies or workers take a large share, as in Ireland or Luxembourg, so GNI per person is closer to what a country's residents earn.

What is the World Bank Atlas method?

A way of converting GNI to US dollars that averages a country's exchange rate over three years, adjusted for inflation, so one year's currency swing doesn't jump it from one income group to another. The World Bank uses it to sort countries into low, lower-middle, upper-middle and high income each July.

Why is the median income missing or old for some countries?

Median income or consumption comes from household surveys, which most countries run every few years and some haven't run in a long time. Many lower-income countries measure what households spend rather than what they earn. This page shows the latest survey from the past 15 years in the World Bank's Poverty and Inequality Platform, with its year, and says when there isn't one.

Where do these figures come from?

From the World Bank's World Development Indicators, last updated October 8, 2026, with figures through 2025, and median income or consumption from its Poverty and Inequality Platform (September 22, 2026 release). Each figure is the latest the World Bank has for that country, from 2015 on; an older one is left out. The IMF publishes its own estimates, which usually differ by a few percent.

Is this comparison financial advice?

No. It's an educational comparison of official statistics. A country's average price level covers its whole economy, so your own costs in either place depend on where you live and what you buy.

How does the comparison work?