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Country guide· 32 min read

Japan rankings 2026: where Japan places in 254 global Top 10s

Japan is #1 in Countries by net primary income, #1 in 7 rankings and inside the top 10 of 118 rankings. Every position, value and source, regenerated as the data refreshes.

Japan appears in 254 of the 491 live country rankings on Top10Earth. This guide walks through every one of them: where Japan is number one, where it makes the top 10, where it sits further down the table, and what has moved since the previous snapshot. Its best position is #1 in Countries by net primary income, where it is measured at 280.0k BoP, current US$ million (Net primary income) as of 2026-10-28. Japan holds the #1 spot in 7 rankings and finishes inside the top 10 in 118 rankings.

Where Japan is number one

Japan leads the world in 7 rankings. In each case the runner-up and the gap are shown so the lead can be judged, not just the position.

Top 10 finishes

Japan is inside the top 10 of 111 further rankings beyond the ones it leads. Each entry names the country directly above it, which is the position to beat at the next refresh.

The remaining 99 top-10 positions are in the full list at the end of this guide.

Japan by theme

The rankings are grouped by category below, so the economic picture, the health picture and the environmental picture can be read separately. Positions are out of the number of countries each source reports, which differs by ranking.

Environment and energy

In environment and energy, Japan holds 76 positions: #1 of 50 in Countries with the largest share of global plastic waste exports (21.28 %), #4 of 50 in Countries generating the most electricity from coal (330.08 TWh), #4 of 50 in Countries with the highest CO₂ emissions from aviation (27.4k thousand tonnes) and #4 of 46 in Countries with the highest CO₂ emissions from other industry (11.4k thousand tonnes). 72 more rankings are listed below.

Finance and crypto

In finance and crypto, Japan holds 56 positions: #1 of 50 in Countries by net primary income (280.0k BoP, current US$ million), #2 of 50 in Countries by foreign direct investment, net (172.0k BoP, current US$ million), #2 of 50 in Countries by foreign direct investment, net outflows (217.8k BoP, current US$ million) and #3 of 50 in Countries by current account balance (215.77 BoP, current US$ bn). 52 more rankings are listed below.

Food and agriculture

In food and agriculture, Japan holds 42 positions: #1 of 50 in Countries where a calorie-sufficient diet costs the most (2.68 PPP dollars), #1 of 50 in Countries with the highest beef yield per animal (450 kilograms per animal), #6 of 50 in Countries with the highest chicken meat yields per animal (2.91 kilograms per animal) and #6 of 50 in Countries with the highest poultry meat yield per animal (2.91 kilograms per animal). 38 more rankings are listed below.

World and society

In world and society, Japan holds 38 positions: #1 of 50 in Countries whose largest city has the most people (37.0k thousand people), #2 of 50 in Countries with the highest share of people over 65 (29.99 %), #4 of 50 in Countries with the most listed domestic companies (3,942) and #5 of 50 in Countries with the most people in cities of over 1 million (80.9k thousand people). 34 more rankings are listed below.

Health and wellbeing

In health and wellbeing, Japan holds 22 positions: #1 of 50 in Countries with the highest life expectancy at birth (84.46 years), #2 of 50 in Countries with the highest healthy life expectancy at birth (73.4 years), #3 of 50 in Countries with the most hospital beds per 1,000 people (12.59 per 1,000 people) and #4 of 50 in Countries with the longest life expectancy (84.71 years). 18 more rankings are listed below.

Education and science

In education and science, Japan holds 8 positions: #1 of 50 in Countries with the most students reaching minimum maths level (lower sec.) (91.73 %), #3 of 50 in Countries with the highest primary school completion rates (100 %), #3 of 50 in Countries with the most patent applications by residents (237.17 thousand) and #4 of 50 in Countries with the most students reaching minimum reading level (lower sec.) (86.25 %). 4 more rankings are listed below.

Consumer tech

In consumer tech, Japan holds 7 positions: #3 of 50 in Countries with the most fixed telephone subscriptions (59.3k thousand subscriptions), #4 of 50 in Countries with the most fixed broadband subscriptions (48.05 million subscriptions), #6 of 50 in Countries with the most mobile phone subscriptions (221.92 million subscriptions) and #9 of 50 in Countries with the most internet users (106.05 million people). 3 more rankings are listed below.

Travel

In travel, Japan holds 5 positions: #2 of 50 in Countries with the most rail travel (0.26 million), #6 of 50 in Countries with the most air passengers (120.31 million), #6 of 50 in Countries with the most airline departures (975.62 thousand) and #20 of 50 in Countries earning the most from tourism (11.4 US$ bn). 1 more ranking is listed below.

What changed at the latest refresh

Comparing each ranking's newest snapshot with the one before it, Japan moved in 237 rankings:

Since the first snapshot

Top10Earth keeps every snapshot it publishes. Where a ranking has been captured at least three times, the first recorded position can be compared with today's:

Where Japan ranks lowest

A guide that only listed wins would be misleading. Japan's lowest current positions are 50th of 50 in Countries with the highest millet yields (0.89 tonnes per hectare), 48th of 49 in Countries producing the most palm oil (0 thousand tonnes) and 48th of 50 in Countries with the highest average annual precipitation (1,668 mm per year). Whether a low position is good or bad depends on the metric: being near the bottom of an emissions or mortality ranking is the better place to be.

Every ranking that includes Japan

How to read these numbers

Each ranking measures one metric from one named source at one time, so a #3 in one table and a #3 in another are not directly comparable. Countries also report in different years: the capture date is when Top10Earth fetched the data, while the source's own year is stated on each ranking page under methodology. For a side-by-side with another country on the same measures, open any ranking and use the head-to-head links, or visit Japan's entity page for the live table and rank-history chart.

Top10Earth never estimates or edits a value. Each number is fetched from its source on a schedule, hashed, stored and ranked by software, then checked by a quality gate before it is published. If a refresh fails that gate the previous snapshot stays live and a person looks at why. Every past snapshot is kept, which is what makes the rank-history charts on each ranking page possible.

Questions people ask about Japan

What is Japan's best ranking on Top10Earth?

#1 in Countries by net primary income, with 280.0k BoP, current US$ million (Net primary income) as of 2026-10-28.

How many rankings include Japan?

254 current country rankings out of 491 on the site, including 7 rankings where it is #1.

Is Japan in the top 10 of anything?

Yes: 118 rankings, including #1 in Countries by net primary income, #1 in Countries where a calorie-sufficient diet costs the most and #1 in Countries whose largest city has the most people.

Where do the numbers come from?

From World Bank Open Data and Our World in Data. Each ranking page names its source, metric definition and capture date.

When was this guide last updated?

The newest snapshot used here was captured on 2026-11-02. The guide is regenerated automatically as rankings refresh.

Live table and history →

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