Japan vs United States: Personal remittances and foreign aid received

Japan
5.29 billion current US$
in 2021
United States
7.09 billion current US$
in 2021
Japan rank
31st
United States rank
28th

Personal remittances and foreign aid received over time

  • Japan
  • United States
02.0B4.0B6.0B8.0B197719992021

How they compare

United States currently reports 7.09 billion current US$ against 5.29 billion current US$ in Japan, a difference of 1.80 billion current US$.

That makes United States's figure about 1.3 times Japan's.

The two have swapped places 2 times across 39 shared years of data; in 1977 it was United States ahead.

Japan ranks 31st and United States ranks 28th of 193 countries.

Across the 6 decades both report, Japan averaged higher in 1 and United States in 5.

Head to head by decade

Decade Japan United States Difference Ahead
1970s 126.67 million current US$ 216.67 million current US$ 90.00 million current US$ United States
1980s 186.00 million current US$ 80.00 million current US$ 106.00 million current US$ Japan
1990s 680.78 million current US$ 2.24 billion current US$ 1.56 billion current US$ United States
2000s 1.15 billion current US$ 4.91 billion current US$ 3.75 billion current US$ United States
2010s 3.28 billion current US$ 6.47 billion current US$ 3.19 billion current US$ United States
2020s 5.09 billion current US$ 6.96 billion current US$ 1.87 billion current US$ United States

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher personal remittances and foreign aid received, Japan or United States?
United States, at 7.09 billion current US$ against 5.29 billion current US$ in Japan as of 2021.
What is the difference in personal remittances and foreign aid received between Japan and United States?
1.80 billion current US$, with United States ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Japan and United States?
39 years are reported by both, from 1977 to 2021.
How do Japan and United States rank globally for personal remittances and foreign aid received?
Japan ranks 31st and United States ranks 28th of 193 countries.
Where does this data come from?
World Bank based on International Monetary Fund balance of payments data (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Personal remittances and foreign aid received. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator
Personal remittances and foreign aid received
Unit
current US$
Source
World Bank based on International Monetary Fund balance of payments data (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
193 places, 6,518 data points, 1970–2021
Last refreshed

Remittances are financial transfers from non-residents to residents of a country, such as a worker abroad sending money to family and friends. Foreign aid is measured as official development assistance. Both are measured in current US$.