Main page Compare countries Index countries Index fields

Query:
Jah-Jah.pl / Index countries / Japan (2004) - World (2006) / Compare countries
##ciekawa_strona##

Compare Japan (2004) - World (2006)

Compare Japan (2004) z World (2006)

 Japan (2004)World (2006)
 JapanWorld
Administrative divisions 47 prefectures; Aichi, Akita, Aomori, Chiba, Ehime, Fukui, Fukuoka, Fukushima, Gifu, Gumma, Hiroshima, Hokkaido, Hyogo, Ibaraki, Ishikawa, Iwate, Kagawa, Kagoshima, Kanagawa, Kochi, Kumamoto, Kyoto, Mie, Miyagi, Miyazaki, Nagano, Nagasaki, Nara, Niigata, Oita, Okayama, Okinawa, Osaka, Saga, Saitama, Shiga, Shimane, Shizuoka, Tochigi, Tokushima, Tokyo, Tottori, Toyama, Wakayama, Yamagata, Yamaguchi, Yamanashi 272 nations, dependent areas, and other entities
Age structure 0-14 years: 14.3% (male 9,337,867; female 8,876,996)


15-64 years: 66.7% (male 42,697,264; female 42,196,835)


65 years and over: 19% (male 10,169,190; female 14,054,850) (2004 est.)
0-14 years: 27.4% (male 919,219,446/female 870,242,271)


15-64 years: 65.2% (male 2,152,066,888/female 2,100,334,722)


65 years and over: 7.4% (male 213,160,216/female 270,146,721)


note: some countries do not maintain age structure information, thus a slight discrepancy exists between the total world population and the total for world age structure (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products rice, sugar beets, vegetables, fruit, pork, poultry, dairy products, eggs, fish -
Airports 174 (2003 est.) 49,024 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways total: 143


over 3,047 m: 7


2,438 to 3,047 m: 37


1,524 to 2,437 m: 39


914 to 1,523 m: 28


under 914 m: 32 (2004 est.)
-
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 31


over 3047 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 4


under 914 m: 26 (2004 est.)
-
Area total: 377,835 sq km


land: 374,744 sq km


water: 3,091 sq km


note: includes Bonin Islands (Ogasawara-gunto), Daito-shoto, Minami-jima, Okino-tori-shima, Ryukyu Islands (Nansei-shoto), and Volcano Islands (Kazan-retto)
total: 510.072 million sq km


land: 148.94 million sq km


water: 361.132 million sq km


note: 70.8% of the world's surface is water, 29.2% is land
Area - comparative slightly smaller than California land area about 16 times the size of the US
Background In 1603, a Tokugawa shogunate (military dictatorship) ushered in a long period of isolation from foreign influence in order to secure its power. For 250 years this policy enabled Japan to enjoy stability and a flowering of its indigenous culture. Following the Treaty of Kanagawa with the United States in 1854, Japan opened its ports and began to intensively modernize and industrialize. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Japan became a regional power that was able to defeat the forces of both China and Russia. It occupied Korea, Formosa (Taiwan), and southern Sakhalin Island. In 1933 Japan occupied Manchuria and in 1937 it launched a full-scale invasion of China. Japan attacked US forces in 1941 - triggering America's entry into World War II - and soon occupied much of East and Southeast Asia. After its defeat in World War II, Japan recovered to become an economic power and a staunch ally of the US. While the emperor retains his throne as a symbol of national unity, actual power rests in networks of powerful politicians, bureaucrats, and business executives. The economy experienced a major slowdown starting in the 1990s following three decades of unprecedented growth, but Japan still remains a major economic power, both in Asia and globally. In 2005, Japan began a two-year term as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. Globally, the 20th century was marked by: (a) two devastating world wars; (b) the Great Depression of the 1930s; (c) the end of vast colonial empires; (d) rapid advances in science and technology, from the first airplane flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (US) to the landing on the moon; (e) the Cold War between the Western alliance and the Warsaw Pact nations; (f) a sharp rise in living standards in North America, Europe, and Japan; (g) increased concerns about the environment, including loss of forests, shortages of energy and water, the decline in biological diversity, and air pollution; (h) the onset of the AIDS epidemic; and (i) the ultimate emergence of the US as the only world superpower. The planet's population continues to explode: from 1 billion in 1820, to 2 billion in 1930, 3 billion in 1960, 4 billion in 1974, 5 billion in 1988, and 6 billion in 2000. For the 21st century, the continued exponential growth in science and technology raises both hopes (e.g., advances in medicine) and fears (e.g., development of even more lethal weapons of war).
Birth rate 9.56 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) 20.05 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Budget revenues: $1.327 trillion


expenditures: $1.646 trillion, including capital expenditures (public works only) of about $71 billion (2003 est.)
-
Capital Tokyo -
Climate varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north a wide equatorial band of hot and humid tropical climates - bordered north and south by subtropical temperate zones - that separate two large areas of cold and dry polar climates
Coastline 29,751 km 356,000 km


note: 98 nations and other entities are islands that border no other countries, they include: American Samoa, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Ashmore and Cartier Islands, The Bahamas, Bahrain, Baker Island, Barbados, Bassas da India, Bermuda, Bouvet Island, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Christmas Island, Clipperton Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Comoros, Cook Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Cuba, Cyprus, Dominica, Europa Island, Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), Faroe Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic Lands, Glorioso Islands, Greenland, Grenada, Guam, Guernsey, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Howland Island, Iceland, Isle of Man, Jamaica, Jan Mayen, Japan, Jarvis Island, Jersey, Johnston Atoll, Juan de Nova Island, Kingman Reef, Kiribati, Madagascar, Maldives, Malta, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritius, Mayotte, Federated States of Micronesia, Midway Islands, Montserrat, Nauru, Navassa Island, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Palmyra Atoll, Paracel Islands, Philippines, Pitcairn Islands, Puerto Rico, Reunion, Saint Helena, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Spratly Islands, Sri Lanka, Svalbard, Tokelau, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tromelin Island, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Virgin Islands, Wake Island, Wallis and Futuna, Taiwan
Constitution 3 May 1947 -
Country name conventional long form: none


conventional short form: Japan
-
Currency yen (JPY) -
Death rate 8.75 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) 8.67 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Debt - external NA (2002 est.) $36.89 trillion


note: this figure is the sum total of all countries' external debt, both public and private (2004 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador Howard H. BAKER, Jr.


embassy: 10-5 Akasaka 1-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-8420


mailing address: Unit 45004, Box 258, APO AP 96337-5004


telephone: [81] (03) 3224-5000


FAX: [81] (03) 3505-1862


consulate(s) general: Naha (Okinawa), Osaka-Kobe, Sapporo


consulate(s): Fukuoka, Nagoya
-
Diplomatic representation in the US chief of mission: Ambassador Ryozo KATO


chancery: 2520 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 238-6700


FAX: [1] (202) 328-2187


consulate(s) general: Anchorage, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Hagatna (Guam), Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Portland (Oregon), San Francisco, and Seattle


consulate(s): Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands)
-
Disputes - international The sovereignty dispute over the islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, and Shikotan, and the Habomai group, known in Japan as the "Northern Territories" and in Russia as the "Southern Kuril Islands", occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by Russia and claimed by Japan, remains the primary sticking point to signing a peace treaty formally ending World War II hostilities; intensified media coverage and protests highlight dispute over the fishing-rich Liancourt Rocks (Tok-do/Take-shima) also claimed by South Korea; China and Taiwan have intensified their claims to the Senkaku Islands (Diaoyu Tai) administered by Japan stretching over 250,000 km, the world's 329 international land boundaries separate the 193 independent states and 73 dependencies, areas of special sovereignty, and other miscellaneous entities; ethnicity, culture, race, religion, and language have divided states into separate political entities as much as history, physical terrain, political fiat, or conquest, resulting in sometimes arbitrary and imposed boundaries; maritime states have claimed limits and have so far established over 130 maritime boundaries and joint development zones to allocate ocean resources and to provide for national security at sea; boundary, borderland/resource, and territorial disputes vary in intensity from managed or dormant to violent or militarized; most disputes over the alignment of political boundaries are confined to short segments and are today less common and less hostile than borderland, resource, and territorial disputes; undemarcated, indefinite, porous, and unmanaged boundaries, however, encourage illegal cross-border activities, uncontrolled migration, and confrontation; territorial disputes may evolve from historical and/or cultural claims, or they may be brought on by resource competition; ethnic and cultural clashes continue to be responsible for much of the territorial fragmentation around the world; disputes over islands at sea or in rivers frequently form the source of territorial and boundary conflict; other sources of contention include access to water and mineral (especially petroleum) resources, fisheries, and arable land; nonetheless, most nations cooperate to clarify their international boundaries and to resolve territorial and resource disputes peacefully; regional discord today prevails not so much between the armed forces of independent states as between stateless armed entities that detract from the sustenance and welfare of local populations, leaving the community of nations to cope with resultant refugees, hunger, disease, impoverishment, and environmental degradation
Economic aid - donor ODA, $7 billion (FY03/04) -
Economic aid - recipient - $154 billion official development assistance (ODA) (2004)
Economy - overview Government-industry cooperation, a strong work ethic, mastery of high technology, and a comparatively small defense allocation (1% of GDP) helped Japan advance with extraordinary rapidity to the rank of second most technologically-powerful economy in the world after the US and third-largest economy after the US and China. One notable characteristic of the economy is the working together of manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors in closely-knit groups called keiretsu. A second basic feature has been the guarantee of lifetime employment for a substantial portion of the urban labor force. Both features are now eroding. Industry, the most important sector of the economy, is heavily dependent on imported raw materials and fuels. The much smaller agricultural sector is highly subsidized and protected, with crop yields among the highest in the world. Usually self-sufficient in rice, Japan must import about 50% of its requirements of other grain and fodder crops. Japan maintains one of the world's largest fishing fleets and accounts for nearly 15% of the global catch. For three decades overall real economic growth had been spectacular: a 10% average in the 1960s, a 5% average in the 1970s, and a 4% average in the 1980s. Growth slowed markedly in the 1990s, averaging just 1.7%, largely because of the after effects of overinvestment during the late 1980s and contractionary domestic policies intended to wring speculative excesses from the stock and real estate markets. Government efforts to revive economic growth have met with little success and were further hampered in 2000-2003 by the slowing of the US, European, and Asian economies. Japan's huge government debt, which totals more than 150% of GDP, and the ageing of the population are two major long-run problems. Robotics constitutes a key long-term economic strength with Japan possessing 410,000 of the world's 720,000 "working robots." Internal conflict over the proper way to reform the ailing banking system continues. Global output rose by 4.4% in 2005, led by China (9.3%), India (7.6%), and Russia (5.9%). The other 14 successor nations of the USSR and the other old Warsaw Pact nations again experienced widely divergent growth rates; the three Baltic nations continued as strong performers, in the 7% range of growth. Growth results posted by the major industrial countries varied from no gain for Italy to a strong gain by the United States (3.5%). The developing nations also varied in their growth results, with many countries facing population increases that erode gains in output. Externally, the nation-state, as a bedrock economic-political institution, is steadily losing control over international flows of people, goods, funds, and technology. Internally, the central government often finds its control over resources slipping as separatist regional movements - typically based on ethnicity - gain momentum, e.g., in many of the successor states of the former Soviet Union, in the former Yugoslavia, in India, in Iraq, in Indonesia, and in Canada. Externally, the central government is losing decisionmaking powers to international bodies, notably the EU. In Western Europe, governments face the difficult political problem of channeling resources away from welfare programs in order to increase investment and strengthen incentives to seek employment. The addition of 80 million people each year to an already overcrowded globe is exacerbating the problems of pollution, desertification, underemployment, epidemics, and famine. Because of their own internal problems and priorities, the industrialized countries devote insufficient resources to deal effectively with the poorer areas of the world, which, at least from an economic point of view, are becoming further marginalized. The introduction of the euro as the common currency of much of Western Europe in January 1999, while paving the way for an integrated economic powerhouse, poses economic risks because of varying levels of income and cultural and political differences among the participating nations. The terrorist attacks on the US on 11 September 2001 accentuated a further growing risk to global prosperity, illustrated, for example, by the reallocation of resources away from investment to anti-terrorist programs. The opening of war in March 2003 between a US-led coalition and Iraq added new uncertainties to global economic prospects. After the coalition victory, the complex political difficulties and the high economic cost of establishing domestic order in Iraq became major global problems that continued into 2006.
Electricity - consumption 964.2 billion kWh (2001) 15.45 trillion kWh (2003 est.)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2001) 537 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2001) 545.2 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - production 1.037 trillion kWh (2001) 16.54 trillion kWh (2003 est.)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Hachiro-gata -4 m


highest point: Mount Fuji 3,776 m
lowest point: Bentley Subglacial Trench -2,540 m


note: in the oceanic realm, Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench is the lowest point, lying -10,924 m below the surface of the Pacific Ocean


highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m
Environment - current issues air pollution from power plant emissions results in acid rain; acidification of lakes and reservoirs degrading water quality and threatening aquatic life; Japan is one of the largest consumers of fish and tropical timber, contributing to the depletion of these resources in Asia and elsewhere large areas subject to overpopulation, industrial disasters, pollution (air, water, acid rain, toxic substances), loss of vegetation (overgrazing, deforestation, desertification), loss of wildlife, soil degradation, soil depletion, erosion
Environment - international agreements party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling -
Ethnic groups Japanese 99%, others 1% (Korean 511,262, Chinese 244,241, Brazilian 182,232, Filipino 89,851, other 237,914)


note: up to 230,000 Brazilians of Japanese origin migrated to Japan in the 1990s to work in industries; some have returned to Brazil (2004)
-
Exchange rates yen per US dollar - 115.933 (2003), 125.388 (2002), 121.529 (2001), 107.765 (2000), 113.907 (1999) -
Executive branch chief of state: Emperor AKIHITO (since 7 January 1989)


head of government: Prime Minister Junichiro KOIZUMI (since 26 April 2001)


cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister


elections: Diet designates prime minister; constitution requires that prime minister commands parliamentary majority; following legislative elections, leader of majority party or leader of majority coalition in House of Representatives usually becomes prime minister; monarch is hereditary
-
Exports 93,360 bbl/day (2001) 667.6 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Exports - commodities motor vehicles, semiconductors, office machinery, chemicals the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services
Exports - partners US 24.8%, China 12.1%, South Korea 7.3%, Taiwan 6.6%, Hong Kong 6.3% (2003) US 15.6%, Germany 7.4%, China 5.7%, France 4.9%, UK 4.7%, Japan 4.5% (2005)
Fiscal year 1 April - 31 March -
Flag description white with a large red disk (representing the sun without rays) in the center -
GDP purchasing power parity - $3.582 trillion (2003 est.) -
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 1.3%


industry: 25.4%


services: 73.3% (2003 est.)
agriculture: 4%


industry: 32%


services: 64% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $28,200 (2003 est.) -
GDP - real growth rate 2.7% (2003 est.) 4.7% (2005 est.)
Geographic coordinates 36 00 N, 138 00 E -
Geography - note strategic location in northeast Asia the world is now thought to be about 4.55 billion years old, just about one-third of the 13-billion-year age estimated for the universe
Heliports 15 (2003 est.) 2,021 (2006)
Highways total: 1,161,894 km


paved: 534,471 km (including 6,455 km of expressways)


unpaved: 627,423 km (1999)
-
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: 4.8%


highest 10%: 21.7% (1993)
lowest 10%: 2.6%


highest 10%: 29.4% (2000 est.)
Illicit drugs - cocaine: worldwide coca cultivation in 2004 amounted to 166,200 hectares; Colombia produced slightly more than two-thirds of the worldwide crop, followed by Peru and Bolivia; potential pure cocaine production of 645 metric tons in 2004 marked the lowest level of Andean cocaine production in the past 10 years; Colombia conducts aggressive coca eradication campaign, but both Peruvian and Bolivian Governments are hesitant to eradicate coca in key growing areas; 376 metric tons of export-quality cocaine are documented to have been seized in 2003, and 26 metric tons disrupted (jettisoned or destroyed); consumption of export quality cocaine is estimated to have been 800 metric tons


opiates: worldwide illicit opium poppy cultivation reached 258,630 hectares in 2004; potential opium production of 5,444 metric tons was highest total recorded since estimates began in mid-1980s; Afghanistan is world's primary opium producer, accounting for 91% of the global supply; Southeast Asia - responsible for 7% of global opium - continued to diminish in importance in the world opium market; Latin America produced 2% of global opium, but most refined into heroin destined for United States; if all opium processed into pure heroin, the potential global production would be 632 metric tons of heroin in 2004
Imports 5.449 million bbl/day (2001) 696 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Imports - commodities machinery and equipment, fuels, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, raw materials (2001) the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services
Imports - partners China 19.7%, US 15.6%, South Korea 4.7%, Indonesia 4.3% (2003) China 9.3%, US 9%, Germany 9%, Japan 6.1%, France 4.2% (2005)
Independence 660 BC (traditional founding by Emperor Jimmu) -
Industrial production growth rate 3.3% (2003 est.) 3% (2003 est.)
Industries among world's largest and technologically advanced producers of motor vehicles, electronic equipment, machine tools, steel and nonferrous metals, ships, chemicals, textiles, processed foods dominated by the onrush of technology, especially in computers, robotics, telecommunications, and medicines and medical equipment; most of these advances take place in OECD nations; only a small portion of non-OECD countries have succeeded in rapidly adjusting to these technological forces; the accelerated development of new industrial (and agricultural) technology is complicating already grim environmental problems
Infant mortality rate total: 3.28 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 3.54 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 3 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
total: 48.87 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 50.98 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 46.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) -0.3% (2003 est.) developed countries 1% to 4% typically; developing countries 5% to 20% typically; national inflation rates vary widely in individual cases, from declining prices in Japan to hyperinflation in one Third World countries (Zimbabwe); inflation rates have declined for most countries for the last several years, held in check by increasing international competition from several low wage countries (2005 est.)
International organization participation AfDB, APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CE (observer), CERN (observer), CP, EBRD, FAO, G-5, G-7, G-8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA, MIGA, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE (partner), Paris Club, PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMOVIC, UNRWA, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC -
Irrigated land 26,790 sq km (1998 est.) 2,770,980 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch Supreme Court (chief justice is appointed by the monarch after designation by the cabinet; all other justices are appointed by the cabinet) -
Labor force 66.66 million (2003) 3.001 billion (2005 est.)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 5%, industry 25%, services 70% (2002 est.) agriculture: 42%


industry: 21%


services: 37% (2002 est.)
Land boundaries 0 km the land boundaries in the world total 250,708 km (not counting shared boundaries twice); two nations, China and Russia, each border 14 other countries


note: 44 nations and other areas are landlocked, these include: Afghanistan, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Holy See (Vatican City), Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Paraguay, Rwanda, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, West Bank, Zambia, Zimbabwe; two of these, Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan, are doubly landlocked
Land use arable land: 12.19%


permanent crops: 0.96%


other: 86.85% (2001)
arable land: 13.31%


permanent crops: 4.71%


other: 81.98% (2005)
Languages Japanese Mandarin Chinese 13.69%, Spanish 5.05%, English 4.84%, Hindi 2.82%, Portuguese 2.77%, Bengali 2.68%, Russian 2.27%, Japanese 1.99%, Standard German 1.49%, Wu Chinese 1.21% (2004 est.)


note: percents are for "first language" speakers only
Legal system modeled after European civil law system with English-American influence; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations all members of the UN are parties to the statute that established the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court
Legislative branch bicameral Diet or Kokkai consists of the House of Councillors or Sangi-in (242 seats - members elected for six-year terms; half reelected every three years; 144 members in multi-seat constituencies and 98 by proportional representation); House of Representatives or Shugi-in (480 seats - members elected for four-year terms; 300 in single-seat constituencies; 180 members by proportional representation in 11 regional blocs)


elections: House of Councillors - last held 11 July 2004 (next to be held in July 2007); House of Representatives - last held 9 November 2003 (next election by November 2007)


election results: House of Councillors - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - LDP 115, DPJ 82, Komeito 24, JCP 9, SDP 5, others 7; distribution of seats as of October 2004 - LDP 114, DPJ 84, Komeito 24, JCP 9, SDP 5, others 6

House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - LDP 49.38%, DPJ 36.88%, Komeito 7.09%, JCP 1.88%, SDP 1.25%, NCP .84%; seats by party - LDP 237, DPJ 177, Komeito 34, JCP 9, SDP 6, NCP 4, others 13; distribution of seats as of December 2004: LDP 249, DPJ 177, Komeito 34, JCP 9, SDP 6, others 3, vacant 2


note: Liberal Party merged with Democratic Party of Japan in September 2003; Conservative New Party merged with Liberal Democratic Party following election in November 2003 (2004)
-
Life expectancy at birth total population: 81.04 years


male: 77.74 years


female: 84.51 years (2004 est.)
total population: 64.77 years


male: 63.16 years


female: 66.47 years (2006 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 99%


male: 99%


female: 99% (2002)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 82%


male: 87%


female: 77%


note: over two-thirds of the world's 785 million illiterate adults are found in only eight countries (India, China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Egypt); of all the illiterate adults in the world, two-thirds are women; extremely low literacy rates are concentrated in three regions, South and West Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Arab states, where around one-third of the men and half of all women are illiterate (2005 est.)
Location Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula -
Map references Asia Physical Map of the World, Political Map of the World, Standard Time Zones of the World
Maritime claims territorial sea: 12 nm; between 3 nm and 12 nm in the international straits - La Perouse or Soya, Tsugaru, Osumi, and Eastern and Western Channels of the Korea or Tsushima Strait


contiguous zone: 24 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
a variety of situations exist, but in general, most countries make the following claims measured from the mean low-tide baseline as described in the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea: territorial sea - 12 nm, contiguous zone - 24 nm, and exclusive economic zone - 200 nm; additional zones provide for exploitation of continental shelf resources and an exclusive fishing zone; boundary situations with neighboring states prevent many countries from extending their fishing or economic zones to a full 200nm
Merchant marine total: 568 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 10,149,196 GRT/12,680,544 DWT


by type: bulk 113, cargo 39, chemical tanker 18, combination bulk 31, combination ore/oil 1, container 14, liquefied gas 53, passenger 8, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 170, refrigerated cargo 6, roll on/roll off 58, short-sea/passenger 7, vehicle carrier 49


foreign-owned: China 1, Panama 1, Philippines 1, Singapore 1


registered in other countries: 1,989 (2004 est.)
total: 33,222 ships (1000 GRT or over) (2006)
Military branches Ground Self-Defense Force (Army), Maritime Self-Defense Force (Navy), Air Self-Defense Force (Air Force), Coast Guard -
Military expenditures - dollar figure $42,488.1 million (2003) aggregate real expenditure on arms worldwide has increased in the beginning of the 21st century, with the largest increase in the US; a rough estimate for 2005 is $1.2 trillion (at puchasing power parity) (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 1% (2003) roughly 2% of gross world product (2005 est.)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49: 29,179,095 (2004 est.) -
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49: 25,189,438 (2004 est.) -
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males: 700,931 (2004 est.) -
National holiday Birthday of Emperor AKIHITO, 23 December (1933) -
Nationality noun: Japanese (singular and plural)


adjective: Japanese
-
Natural hazards many dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1,500 seismic occurrences (mostly tremors) every year; tsunamis; typhoons large areas subject to severe weather (tropical cyclones), natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions)
Natural resources negligible mineral resources, fish the rapid depletion of nonrenewable mineral resources, the depletion of forest areas and wetlands, the extinction of animal and plant species, and the deterioration in air and water quality (especially in Eastern Europe, the former USSR, and China) pose serious long-term problems that governments and peoples are only beginning to address
Net migration rate 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) -
Pipelines gas 2,719 km; oil 170 km; oil/gas/water 60 km (2004) -
Political parties and leaders Democratic Party of Japan or DPJ [Katsuya OKADA, leader; Tatsuo KAWABATA, secretary general]; Japan Communist Party or JCP [Kazuo SHII, chairman; Tadayoshi ICHIDA, secretary general]; Komeito [Takenori KANZAKI, president; Tetsuzo FUYUSHIBA, secretary general]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Junichiro KOIZUMI, president; Tsutomu TAKEBE, secretary general]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Mizuho FUKUSHIMA, chairperson; Seiji MATAICHI, secretary general] -
Political pressure groups and leaders NA -
Population 127,333,002 (July 2004 est.) 6,525,170,264 (July 2006 est.)
Population below poverty line NA -
Population growth rate 0.08% (2004 est.) 1.14% (2006 est.)
Ports and harbors Akita, Amagasaki, Chiba, Hachinohe, Hakodate, Higashi-Harima, Himeji, Hiroshima, Kawasaki, Kinuura, Kobe, Kushiro, Mizushima, Moji, Nagoya, Osaka, Sakai, Sakaide, Shimizu, Tokyo, Tomakomai -
Radio broadcast stations AM 215 plus 370 repeaters, FM 89 plus 485 repeaters, shortwave 21 (2001) AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
Railways total: 23,705 km (16,519 km electrified)


standard gauge: 3,204 km 1.435-m gauge (3,204 km electrified)


narrow gauge: 77 km 1.372-m gauge (77 km electrified); 20,393 km 1.067-m gauge (13,227 km electrified); 11 km 0.762-m gauge (11 km electrified) (2003)
total: 1,115,205 km


broad gauge: 257,481 km


standard gauge: 671,413 km


narrow gauge: 186,311 km (2003)
Religions observe both Shinto and Buddhist 84%, other 16% (including Christian 0.7%) Christians 33.03% (of which Roman Catholics 17.33%, Protestants 5.8%, Orthodox 3.42%, Anglicans 1.23%), Muslims 20.12%, Hindus 13.34%, Buddhists 5.89%, Sikhs 0.39%, Jews 0.23%, other religions 12.61%, non-religious 12.03%, atheists 2.36% (2004 est.)
Sex ratio at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female


total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female


total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Suffrage 20 years of age; universal -
Telephone system general assessment: excellent domestic and international service


domestic: high level of modern technology and excellent service of every kind


international: country code - 81; satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region), and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific and Indian Ocean regions); submarine cables to China, Philippines, Russia, and US (via Guam) (1999)
general assessment: NA


domestic: NA


international: NA
Telephones - main lines in use 71.149 million (2002) 1,263,367,600 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular 86,658,600 (2003) 2,168,433,600 (2005)
Television broadcast stations 211 plus 7,341 repeaters


note: in addition, US Forces are served by 3 TV stations and 2 TV cable services (1999)
NA
Terrain mostly rugged and mountainous the greatest ocean depth is the Mariana Trench at 10,924 m in the Pacific Ocean
Total fertility rate 1.38 children born/woman (2004 est.) 2.59 children born/woman (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate 5.3% (2003) 30% combined unemployment and underemployment in many non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically 4%-12% unemployment
Waterways 1,770 km (seagoing vessels use inland seas) (2004) 671,886 km (2004)
Sitemap: Compare countries listing (map site) | Country listing (map site)
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.