If you lived in Tonga instead of Japan, you would:

Health

live 7.3 years less

In Japan, the average life expectancy is 85 years (82 years for men, 88 years for women) as of 2022. In Tonga, that number is 78 years (76 years for men, 79 years for women) as of 2022.

be 11.2 times more likely to be obese

In Japan, 4.3% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Tonga, that number is 48.2% of people as of 2016.

Economy

be 10.9% less likely to be unemployed

In Japan, 2.6% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Tonga, that number is 2.3% as of 2023.

make 85.7% less money

Japan has a GDP per capita of $46,300 as of 2023, while in Tonga, the GDP per capita is $6,600 as of 2022.

be 28.0% more likely to live below the poverty line

In Japan, 16.1% live below the poverty line as of 2013. In Tonga, however, that number is 20.6% as of 2021.

Life

have 2.9 times more children

In Japan, there are approximately 6.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Tonga, there are 19.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 31.5 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Japan, approximately 4.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Tonga, 126.0 women do as of 2020.

be 6.5 times more likely to die during infancy

In Japan, approximately 1.9 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Tonga, on the other hand, 12.4 children do as of 2022.

Basic Needs

be 19.3% less likely to have internet access

In Japan, approximately 83.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Tonga, about 67.0% do as of 2021.

Expenditures

spend 51.4% less on healthcare

Japan spends 10.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Tonga, that number is 5.3% of GDP as of 2020.

spend 94.1% more on education

Japan spends 3.4% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Tonga spends 6.6% of total GDP on education as of 2021.

Geography

see 98.6% less coastline

Japan has a total of 29,751 km of coastline. In Tonga, that number is 419 km.


The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.

Tonga: At a glance

Tonga is a sovereign country in Australia-Oceania, with a total land area of approximately 717 sq km. Tonga - unique among Pacific nations - never completely lost its indigenous governance. The archipelagos of "The Friendly Islands" were united into a Polynesian kingdom in 1845. Tonga became a constitutional monarchy in 1875 and a British protectorate in 1900; it withdrew from the protectorate and joined the Commonwealth of Nations in 1970. Tonga remains the only monarchy in the Pacific.
Read more

How big is Tonga compared to Japan? See an in-depth size comparison.

Share this

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Tonga.or Japan It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.