Japan vs United States of America: Share of people who say they are happy
Japan
88.3%
in 2022
United States of America
88.2%
in 2022
Japan rank
17th
United States of America rank
18th
Share of people who say they are happy over time
- Japan
- United States of America
How they compare
Japan currently reports 88.3% against 88.2% in United States of America, a difference of 0.1%.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 7 shared years of data; in 1984 it was United States of America ahead.
Japan ranks 17th and United States of America ranks 18th of 39 countries.
Across the 5 decades both report, Japan averaged higher in 1 and United States of America in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Japan | United States of America | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 77.0% | 90.3% | 13.3% | United States of America |
| 1990s | 83.4% | 90.9% | 7.4% | United States of America |
| 2000s | 86.5% | 93.1% | 6.6% | United States of America |
| 2010s | 86.8% | 91.3% | 4.5% | United States of America |
| 2020s | 88.3% | 88.2% | 0.1% | Japan |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of people who say they are happy, Japan or United States of America?
- Japan, at 88.3% against 88.2% in United States of America as of 2022.
- What is the difference in share of people who say they are happy between Japan and United States of America?
- 0.1%, with Japan ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Japan and United States of America?
- 7 years are reported by both, from 1984 to 2022.
- How do Japan and United States of America rank globally for share of people who say they are happy?
- Japan ranks 17th and United States of America ranks 18th of 39 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Integrated Values Surveys (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of people who say they are happy. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
% of respondents replying "very happy" or "quite happy" when asked "Taking all things together, would you say you are very happy, quite happy, not very happy or not at all happy?"