Share of births that are twins in Japan
Japan: Share of births that are twins was 1.0% in 2019. ▲ Rising
Share of births that are twins in Japan, 1923–2019
Source: Human Multiple Births Database (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2019, share of births that are twins in Japan stood at 1.0%.
The figure is down 1.4% on the previous year and up 2.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of births that are twins in Japan peaked at 1.2% in 2005 and was at its lowest, 0.3%, in 1923.
Japan ranks 23rd of 23 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 75 years of available data.
Share of births that are twins in Japan, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1923 | 0.3% | — |
| 1924 | 0.3% | +0.3% |
| 1925 | 0.3% | +0.3% |
| 1926 | 0.3% | +9.3% |
| 1927 | 0.3% | -4.9% |
| 1928 | 0.3% | +5.4% |
| 1929 | 0.3% | +2.7% |
| 1930 | 0.4% | +5.0% |
| 1931 | 0.4% | +0.8% |
| 1932 | 0.4% | +2.2% |
| 1933 | 0.3% | -6.0% |
| 1934 | 0.4% | +6.7% |
| 1935 | 0.4% | +6.0% |
| 1936 | 0.3% | -10.3% |
| 1951 | 0.6% | +85.4% |
| 1952 | 0.6% | -1.4% |
| 1953 | 0.6% | -0.2% |
| 1954 | 0.7% | +2.2% |
| 1955 | 0.6% | -3.2% |
| 1956 | 0.6% | +1.6% |
| 1957 | 0.7% | +3.0% |
| 1958 | 0.6% | -1.8% |
| 1959 | 0.6% | -0.3% |
| 1960 | 0.6% | -2.5% |
| 1961 | 0.6% | +3.0% |
| 1962 | 0.6% | -0.9% |
| 1963 | 0.6% | -0.6% |
| 1964 | 0.7% | +1.9% |
| 1965 | 0.6% | -4.3% |
| 1966 | 0.7% | +5.6% |
| 1967 | 0.6% | -2.9% |
| 1968 | 0.6% | -3.3% |
| 1974 | 0.6% | -5.5% |
| 1975 | 0.6% | +1.7% |
| 1976 | 0.6% | -1.2% |
| 1977 | 0.6% | +6.5% |
| 1978 | 0.6% | -0.3% |
| 1979 | 0.6% | +3.2% |
| 1980 | 0.6% | +0.3% |
| 1981 | 0.7% | +1.2% |
| 1982 | 0.7% | +0.8% |
| 1983 | 0.7% | -0.2% |
| 1984 | 0.7% | +0.3% |
| 1985 | 0.7% | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 0.7% | -0.8% |
| 1987 | 0.7% | +1.8% |
| 1988 | 0.7% | +1.8% |
| 1989 | 0.7% | +3.7% |
| 1990 | 0.7% | +0.6% |
| 1991 | 0.7% | +2.4% |
| 1992 | 0.8% | +4.6% |
| 1993 | 0.8% | +3.4% |
| 1994 | 0.8% | +6.4% |
| 1995 | 0.9% | +4.1% |
| 1996 | 0.9% | +2.8% |
| 2000 | 1.0% | +11.9% |
| 2001 | 1.0% | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 1.1% | +7.6% |
| 2003 | 1.1% | +3.6% |
| 2004 | 1.1% | +2.5% |
| 2005 | 1.2% | +1.1% |
| 2006 | 1.1% | -1.3% |
| 2007 | 1.1% | -1.5% |
| 2008 | 1.0% | -7.3% |
| 2009 | 1.0% | -4.1% |
| 2010 | 1.0% | -3.9% |
| 2011 | 0.9% | -0.6% |
| 2012 | 1.0% | +3.5% |
| 2013 | 1.0% | +0.7% |
| 2014 | 1.0% | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 1.0% | -0.2% |
| 2016 | 1.0% | +2.3% |
| 2017 | 1.0% | +0.9% |
| 2018 | 1.0% | +1.5% |
| 2019 | 1.0% | -1.4% |
Japan compared with similar countries
- Japan's 1.0% is below the median for high income countries, which is 1.4%, 71% of the median. (23 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of births that are twins in Japan changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | +85.4% | 0.3% | 0.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 7 |
| 1930s | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 7 |
| 1950s | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.7% | 9 |
| 1960s | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.7% | 9 |
| 1970s | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 6 |
| 1980s | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.8% | 0.7% | 0.9% | 7 |
| 2000s | 1.1% | 1.0% | 1.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.0% | 0.9% | 1.0% | 10 |
Countries ranked near Japan
More reference data data for Japan
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.19 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.981 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 4.49 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.3629 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 4.49 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 3.98 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 4.16 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 5.57 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 23.74 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.98 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of births that are twins in Japan?
- Share of births that are twins in Japan was 1.0% in 2019, according to Human Multiple Births Database (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of births that are twins recorded in Japan?
- The highest recorded value was 1.2% in 2005.
- What is the lowest share of births that are twins recorded in Japan?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.3% in 1923.
- How does Japan rank for share of births that are twins?
- Japan ranks 23rd out of 23 countries with data for 2019.
- Is share of births that are twins rising or falling in Japan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Japan data come from?
- The figures come from Human Multiple Births Database (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of births that are twins. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Number of twin deliveries per 100 deliveries.