# Australia and Japan compared Australia and Japan side by side: 41 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 1 events their chronicles record of each other. Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/aus-vs-jpn Updated: 2026-08-10 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates) Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation. ## Formation - Australia: 1 January 1901 — Six colonies join to create the Commonwealth of Australia - Japan: 660 BCE (traditional) — The traditional accession of Emperor Jimmu ## Economy | Metric | Australia | Observed | Japan | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | GDP | $1.76 T | 2024 | $4.03 T | 2024 | | GDP per capita | $64,604 | 2024 | $32,487 | 2024 | | GDP growth | 1.4% | 2024 | 0.1% | 2024 | | Inflation | 3.2% | 2024 | 2.7% | 2024 | | Trade openness | 47.1% | 2024 | 46.4% | 2024 | ## Society | Metric | Australia | Observed | Japan | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population | 27 m | 2024 | 124 m | 2024 | | Life expectancy | 83.1 yrs | 2024 | 84.0 yrs | 2024 | | Urban population | 87.6% | 2024 | 92.2% | 2024 | | Fertility rate | 1.5 | 2024 | 1.1 | 2024 | ## Governance | Metric | Australia | Observed | Japan | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Voice & accountability | 83.3 | 2024 | 76.4 | 2024 | | Political stability | 79.4 | 2024 | 85.3 | 2024 | | Government effectiveness | 86.5 | 2024 | 91.9 | 2024 | | Regulatory quality | 82.0 | 2024 | 75.8 | 2024 | | Rule of law | 82.3 | 2024 | 83.0 | 2024 | | Control of corruption | 85.3 | 2024 | 75.3 | 2024 | ## Health | Metric | Australia | Observed | Japan | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Health spending | 10.4% | 2023 | 10.7% | 2023 | | Physicians | 4.09 | 2022 | 2.65 | 2022 | | Under-5 mortality | 3.6 | 2024 | 2.4 | 2024 | | Measles immunisation | 91.0% | 2024 | 95.0% | 2024 | | Safe drinking water | — | — | 98.7% | 2024 | ## Education | Metric | Australia | Observed | Japan | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Education spending | 5.1% | 2022 | 3.3% | 2021 | | Primary enrolment | 99.6% | 2024 | 101.1% | 2023 | | Secondary enrolment | 131.9% | 2024 | 101.5% | 2023 | | Tertiary enrolment | 108.4% | 2024 | 64.5% | 2023 | ## Technology | Metric | Australia | Observed | Japan | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | R&D spending | 1.9% | 2021 | 3.4% | 2023 | | Researchers (per million) | 4,569 | 2010 | 5,609 | 2023 | | Internet users | 96.1% | 2024 | 85.5% | 2024 | | Mobile subscriptions | 113 | 2024 | 178 | 2023 | | High-tech exports | 25.2% | 2024 | 17.6% | 2024 | ## Geography | Metric | Australia | Observed | Japan | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Land area | 7,692,020 km² | 2023 | 364,569 km² | 2023 | | Forest area | 17.4% | 2023 | 68.4% | 2023 | | Agricultural land | 47.2% | 2023 | 12.6% | 2023 | | CO₂ per capita (t) | 14.1 | 2024 | 7.8 | 2024 | | Renewable energy | 12.3% | 2021 | 8.8% | 2021 | ## Resources | Metric | Australia | Observed | Japan | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Resource rents | 13.4% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 | | Oil rents | 0.3% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 | | Mineral rents | 10.5% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 | | Forest rents | 0.1% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 | | Electricity access | 100.0% | 2023 | 100.0% | 2023 | | Copper (mined) | 730 kt | 2025 | — | — | | Iron ore | 980 Mt | 2025 | — | — | | Gold (mined) | 280 t | 2025 | — | — | | Lithium (mined) | 92.0 kt | 2025 | — | — | | Cobalt (mined) | 3,700 t | 2025 | — | — | | Nickel (mined) | 45.0 kt | 2025 | — | — | | Rare earths | 29.0 kt | 2025 | — | — | | Bauxite | 97 Mt | 2025 | — | — | | Zinc (mined) | 1.1 Mt | 2025 | — | — | | Phosphate rock | 2.5 Mt | 2025 | — | — | ## Military | Metric | Australia | Observed | Japan | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Military burden | 1.9% | 2024 | 1.4% | 2024 | | Defense spending | $34 B | 2024 | $55 B | 2024 | | Armed forces | 60,000 | 2020 | 261,000 | 2020 | Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/AUS.md and https://terralore.co/country/JPN.md. ## Entangled histories (1 event) Events in which either nation's sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the record exactly as its own chronicle carries it, with that chronicle's sources. - 19 February 1942: **Bombing of Darwin** — Japanese aircraft bombed Darwin during the Second World War, the largest attack ever mounted on Australia, prompting Australia to turn increasingly toward the United States for security. (from the Australia chronicle; sources: Australia (country)) ## Sources - World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org - Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators - Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho - Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org - R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://uis.unesco.org - ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics - Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 — U.S. Geological Survey · Public domain (U.S. Government work) · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center - Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/AUS/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/JPN/chronicle.md. Citation template: Terralore, "Australia and Japan compared", terralore.co/compare/aus-vs-jpn, retrieved .