Wealth share of the richest 1% in Japan

Japan: Wealth share of the richest 1% was 24.6% in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
24.6%
Change on year
up 0.5%
World rank
155th
of 215 countries
All-time high
46.1%
in 1920
All-time low
21.8%
in 1950
Years of data
56
1820–2024

Wealth share of the richest 1% in Japan, 1820–2024

01020304050182019222024

Source: World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2024, wealth share of the richest 1% in Japan stood at 24.6%.

That represents a change of up 0.5% on the previous year and up 0.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, wealth share of the richest 1% in Japan peaked at 46.1% in 1920 and was at its lowest, 21.8%, in 1950.

That places Japan 155th out of 215 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 56 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1820s 33.4% 33.4% 33.4% 1
1850s 34.2% 34.2% 34.2% 1
1880s 35.6% 35.6% 35.6% 1
1900s 40.3% 40.3% 40.3% 1
1910s 46.1% 46.1% 46.1% 1
1920s 46.1% 46.1% 46.1% 1
1930s 45.9% 45.9% 45.9% 1
1940s 38.2% 38.2% 38.2% 1
1950s 21.8% 21.8% 21.8% 1
1960s 22.5% 22.5% 22.5% 1
1970s 23.7% 23.7% 23.7% 1
1980s 23.2% 22.5% 24.7% 10
1990s 23.6% 23.2% 24.9% 10
2000s 24.4% 23.9% 24.9% 10
2010s 24.5% 24.4% 24.5% 10
2020s 24.5% 24.5% 24.6% 5

Countries ranked near Japan

  1. 152 El Salvador 24.7% compare
  2. 152 Kuwait 24.7% compare
  3. 154 Armenia 24.6% compare
  4. 156 Cote d'Ivoire 24.6% compare
  5. 157 Nepal 24.4% compare
  6. 158 Benin 24.4% compare

See the full ranking of 215 places →

More reference data data for Japan

All data for Japan →

Frequently asked questions

What is wealth share of the richest 1% in Japan?
Wealth share of the richest 1% in Japan was 24.6% in 2024, according to World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest wealth share of the richest 1% recorded in Japan?
The highest recorded value was 46.1% in 1920.
What is the lowest wealth share of the richest 1% recorded in Japan?
The lowest recorded value was 21.8% in 1950.
How does Japan rank for wealth share of the richest 1%?
Japan ranks 155th out of 215 countries with data for 2024.
Is wealth share of the richest 1% rising or falling in Japan?
Over the last ten years it is up 0.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Japan data come from?
The figures come from World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Wealth share of the richest 1%. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 56 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Wealth share of the richest 1%
Unit
%
Source
World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
215 places, 10,553 data points, 1800–2024
Last refreshed

The share of wealth owned by the richest 1% of the population. Wealth is defined as the total value of non-financial and financial assets (housing, land, deposits, bonds, equities, etc.) held by households, minus their debts.