Prosperity gap in Japan

Japan: Prosperity gap was 1.2 in 2020. ▼ Falling

Latest (2020)
1.2
Change on year
down 5.4%
World rank
92nd
of 120 countries
All-time high
1.36
in 2008
All-time low
0.9032
in 2015
Years of data
13
2008–2020

Prosperity gap in Japan, 2008–2020

00.511.52008201420202008: 1.42009: 1.32010: 0.9992011: 1.12012: 1.32013: 1.22014: 1.22015: 0.9032016: 12017: 1.12018: 1.22019: 1.32020: 1.2

Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.

Analysis

Japan recorded 1.2 for prosperity gap in 2020.

The figure is down 5.4% on the previous year and up 20.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, prosperity gap in Japan peaked at 1.36 in 2008 and was at its lowest, 0.9032, in 2015.

That places Japan 92nd out of 120 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 13 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 1.32 1.28 1.36 2
2010s 1.11 0.9032 1.29 10
2020s 1.2 1.2 1.2 1

Countries ranked near Japan

  1. 89 Spain 1.29 compare
  2. 90 Turkey 1.29 compare
  3. 91 Latvia 1.29 compare
  4. 93 Malaysia 1.19 compare
  5. 94 Israel 1.18 compare
  6. 95 Australia 1.16 compare

See the full ranking of 120 places →

More reference data data for Japan

All data for Japan →

Frequently asked questions

What is prosperity gap in Japan?
Prosperity gap in Japan was 1.2 in 2020, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest prosperity gap recorded in Japan?
The highest recorded value was 1.36 in 2008.
What is the lowest prosperity gap recorded in Japan?
The lowest recorded value was 0.9032 in 2015.
How does Japan rank for prosperity gap?
Japan ranks 92nd out of 120 countries with data for 2020.
Is prosperity gap rising or falling in Japan?
Over the last ten years it is up 20.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Japan data come from?
The figures come from World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Prosperity gap. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 13 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Prosperity gap
Source
World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
120 places, 2,148 data points, 1963–2025
Last refreshed

Average factor by which incomes need to be multiplied to bring everyone to the prosperity standard of $28 per person per day.