Points Frog guide
Japan vs South Korea
South Korea's GDP per person at PPP is 1.14 times Japan's, and a dollar goes 13% further in South Korea.
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 Japan buys about what
$88.47
buys in South Korea, at purchasing power parity
And $100 in South Korea buys what $113 buys in Japan. Prices across Japan's economy average 113% of South Korea's, so a dollar goes 13% further in South Korea.
| Measure | Japan | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Economy | ||
| Population | 123.4 million | 51.7 million |
| GDPUS dollars, market exchange rates | $4.44 trillion | $1.87 trillion |
| GDP per personUS dollars | $35,951 | $36,227 |
| GDP per person at PPPInternational dollars | $55,422 | $63,125 |
| Prices | ||
| Price levelUS prices = 100% | 65% | 57% |
| A US dollar goes as far as | $1.54 in the US | $1.74 in the US |
| Income | ||
| Median income or consumptionPer person, international dollars | $42.17 a day2020 survey · $15,392 a year · income | $54.25 a day2021 survey · $19,801 a year · income |
More figures: GDP at PPP, conversion factor and GNI
| Measure | Japan | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
| GDP at PPPInternational dollars | $6.84 trillion | $3.26 trillion |
| PPP conversion factorLocal currency per international dollar | 97.08Japanese yen | 816.3Korean won |
| GNI per person, Atlas methodUS dollars | $38,340 | $37,880 |
| GNI per person at PPPInternational dollars | $58,920 | $64,210 |
World Bank income groups: Japan, high income; South Korea, high income.
- Japan
- South Korea
Year-by-year table
| Year | Japan | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $48,283 | $55,697 |
| 2024 | $47,480 | $55,071 |
| 2023 | $47,387 | $54,029 |
| 2022 | $46,819 | $53,229 |
| 2021 | $45,999 | $51,718 |
| 2020 | $44,213 | $49,374 |
| 2019 | $46,055 | $49,791 |
| 2018 | $46,133 | $48,834 |
| 2017 | $45,693 | $47,537 |
| 2016 | $44,927 | $46,088 |
| 2015 | $44,589 | $44,849 |
| 2014 | $43,754 | $43,807 |
| 2013 | $43,304 | $42,710 |
| 2012 | $42,395 | $41,538 |
| 2011 | $41,641 | $40,719 |
| 2010 | $41,647 | $39,574 |
| 2009 | $40,000 | $37,176 |
| 2008 | $42,519 | $37,064 |
| 2007 | $43,042 | $36,257 |
| 2006 | $42,359 | $34,430 |
| 2005 | $41,740 | $32,886 |
| 2004 | $40,987 | $31,580 |
| 2003 | $40,152 | $30,142 |
| 2002 | $39,690 | $29,395 |
| 2001 | $39,749 | $27,441 |
| 2000 | $39,732 | $26,404 |
World Bank figures, updated October 8, 2026. An educational estimate, not financial advice.
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<script async src="https://www.pointsfrog.com/embed.js"></script>Japan vs South Korea: questions
Is Japan richer than South Korea?
Japan's GDP per person at purchasing power parity was $55,422 in 2025, 88% of South Korea's $63,125, so South Korea is the richer of the two by this measure. At market exchange rates, GDP per person was $35,951 in Japan and $36,227 in South Korea. Japan ranks 38th and South Korea 29th of the 186 countries with figures.
How far does a dollar go in Japan compared with South Korea?
Prices across Japan's economy averaged 113% of South Korea's in 2025, so $100 spent in Japan buys about what $88.47 buys in South Korea, and a dollar goes 13% further in South Korea. Against the United States, prices averaged 65% of US prices in Japan and 57% in South Korea. The World Bank's PPP conversion factor was 97.08 (Japanese yen) per international dollar in Japan and 816.3 (Korean won) in South Korea.
How big is Japan's economy compared with South Korea's?
In 2025, Japan's GDP was $4.44 trillion at market exchange rates and $6.84 trillion at PPP; South Korea's GDP was $1.87 trillion at market exchange rates and $3.26 trillion at PPP. At market rates Japan's economy is 2.4 times South Korea's, and at PPP 2.1 times. Japan has 123.4 million people and South Korea 51.7 million.
Do people earn more in Japan or South Korea?
In 2025, gross national income per person by the World Bank's Atlas method was $38,340 in Japan and $37,880 in South Korea; at PPP it was $58,920 and $64,210. The World Bank classes both as high income. In household surveys, the median person's income was $42.17 a day ($15,392 a year) in Japan, from a 2020 survey, and $54.25 a day ($19,801 a year) in South Korea, from a 2021 survey, in 2021 international dollars.
How has GDP per person changed since 2000?
After inflation, GDP per person at PPP grew 22% in Japan from 2000 to 2025, 0.8% a year, and grew 111% in South Korea, 3.0% a year. Japan's was 1.50 times South Korea's in 2000 and 87% 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?
- GDP and GNI in US dollars use market exchange rates; at PPP they use the World Bank's purchasing power parities, in international dollars.
- The price level is a country's GDP at market rates divided by its GDP at PPP: its prices against US prices, across the whole economy, not just what households buy. What $100 buys elsewhere is $100 times the ratio of the two price levels.
- GNI per person uses the Atlas method, the measure behind the World Bank's income groups.
- The chart is GDP per person at PPP in constant 2021 international dollars, so it shows growth after inflation.
- Figures: World Development Indicators, updated October 8, 2026; median income or consumption: Poverty and Inequality Platform, September 22, 2026 release. Series: GDP, GDP at PPP, GDP per person at PPP, PPP conversion factor, GNI per person (Atlas), GNI per person at PPP.