Updated the 5th of March 2019
Regional gap in GDP per capita, 2000-14 Youth unemployment rate, 15-24 years old, 2007-15
Differences between Japanese regions in terms of GDP per capita have decreased over the last sixteen years, with the richest region Southern-Kanto having a GDP per capita 40% higher than the poorest region Kyushu, Okinawa. Japan ranks 10th in terms of lowest regional economic disparities among 30 OECD countries with comparable data.
Youth unemployment rates are well below the OECD average in all Japanese regions. With 8.5% of youths unemployed, Kyushu, Okinawa is the region with the highest youth unemployment in Japan, although this was only half the OECD average in 2015.
Index of regional disparity in GDP per capita, 2016
Source: OECD Regional Database. Notes: (1) Figure on regional gap in GDP per capita: OECD regions refer to the administrative tier of subnational government (large regions, Territorial Level 2); Japan is composed of 10 large regions. (2) Figure on index of regional disparity: top (bottom) 20% regions are defined as those with the highest (lowest) GDP per capita until the equivalent of 20% of national population is reached, this indicator provides a harmonised measure to rank OECD countries, using data for small regions (Territorial Level 3) when available. (3) Data on GDP for Japanese regions refer to 2014.
20 000
25 000
30 000
35 000
40 000
45 000
2001 2005 2010 2014
GDP per capita in USD PPP
Lowest regionKyushu, Okinawa
Highest regionSouthern-Kanto
29 967 USD
41 885 USD
35 502 USD
Japan
OECD
0
5
10
15
20
25
2007 2011 2015
rate (%)
Lowest rateToukai
Highest rateKyushu, Okinawa
4.3%
8.5%
5.5%Japan
1
2
3
4
Top 20 % richest over bottom 20% poorest regionsRatio
Country (number of regions considered)
Small regions(TL3)
Large regions (TL2)
2016 2000
Regions and Cities at a Glance 2018 – JAPAN http://www.oecd.org/regional
Economic trends in regions
Updated the 5th of March 2019
Relative ranking of the regions with the best and worst outcomes in the 11 well-being dimensions, with respect to all 402 OECD regions. The eleven dimensions are ordered by decreasing regional disparities in the country. Each well-being dimension is measured by the indicators in the table below.
All ten Japanese regions rank among the top 25% of OECD regions in jobs and health, while they are all among the bottom 25% in civic engagement and life satisfaction. Southern Kanto is the region with the highest access to services (broadband), income and health in the country, but it ranks at the bottom in housing and education. Japan has the fourth largest regional disparities in access to broadband among OECD countries.
The top performing Japanese regions fare better than the OECD median region in most well-being indicators, except for broadband access, air pollution, life satisfaction and voter turnout. Even in the region with the lowest life expectancy in the country, Tohoku, people can expect to live three years longer than in the OECD median region.
Source: OECD Regional Database. Visualisation: https://www.oecdregionalwellbeing.org. Notes: (1) OECD regions refer to the first administrative tier of subnational government (large regions, Territorial Level 2); Japan is composed of 10 large regions. (2) Household income per capita data are based on USD constant PPP, constant prices (year 2010).
Hokuriku
Northern-Kanto,Koshin
Southern-Kanto
Hokkaido
Southern-Kanto
Hokuriku
Tohoku
Tohoku
Northern-Kanto,Koshin Hokkaido
Southern-Kanto
Southern-Kanto
Hokkaido
Hokkaido
Kyushu,Okinawa
Shikoku
Kansairegion
Kansairegion
Southern-Kanto
Tohoku Shikoku
Tohoku
Housing Community Access toservices
Environment Income Jobs Safety Education LifeSatisfaction
CivicEngagement
Health
Top region Bottom region
Ra
nkin
g o
f O
EC
D r
eg
ion
s(1
to 4
02)
top 2
0%
bo
tto
m 2
0%
mid
dle
60%
Southern-Kanto Groups of prefectures
Top 20% Bottom 20%
Housing
Rooms per person, 2016 2.0 1.8 2.3 1.8
Community
Perceived social netw ork support (%), 2013 90.2 91.4 92.1 88.3
Access to services
Households w ith broadband access (%), 2017 66.6 78.0 76.5 53.0
Environment
Level of air pollution in PM 2.5 (µg/m³), 2015 15.1 12.4 12.5 16.6
Income
Disposable income per capita (in USD PPP), 2016 19 322 17 695 22 290 17 437
Jobs
Employment rate 15 to 64 years old (%), 2017 73.1 67.7 76.3 72.9
Unemployment rate 15 to 64 years old (%), 2017 3.5 5.5 2.9 4.1
Safety
Homicide Rate (per 100 000 people), 2016 0.7 1.3 0.6 1.0
Education
Labour force w ith at least upper secondary education (%), 2017 89.1 81.7 54.2 38.0
Life Satisfaction
Life satisfaction (scale from 0 to 10), 2013 6.1 6.8 6.0 5.7
Civic engagement
Voters in last national election (%), 2017 or lastest year 52.9 70.9 54.8 50.7
Health
Life Expectancy at birth (years), 2016 83.9 80.4 84.4 83.8
Age adjusted mortality rate (per 1 000 people), 2016 5.9 8.1 5.7 6.1
Japanese regionsCountry
Average
OECD median
region
Differences in well-being across regions
Updated the 5th of March 2019
OECD population is concentrated in cities* Percentage of population in cities, 2016
Source: OECD Metropolitan Database. Number of urban agglomerations: 61 in Japan and 1 138 in the OECD.
In Japan, 77% of the population lives in cities of more than 50 000 inhabitants. The share of population in cities with more than 500 000 people is 70% compared to 55% in the OECD area.
Importance of metropolitan areas Cities above 500 000 people, 2016
Contribution of metropolitan areas to GDP growth Cities above 500 000 people, 2000-14
Metropolitan areas in Japan account for 74% of national GDP. Between 2000 and 2014 they generated 80% of the national GDP growth, to which Tokyo alone contributed 37%.
No metropolitan areas of Japan are among the top 20% in the OECD in terms of GDP per capita. Toyohashi, the metropolitan area with the highest GDP per capita in the country, ranks among the top 40% among the 327 OECD metropolitan areas.
In terms of PM 22.5 levels, Sapporo and Sendai are among the 30% least polluted OECD metropolitan areas, although the country has large disparities, with Nagasaki, Kagoshima and Fukuoka being among the 25% most polluted metropolitan areas.
OECD Metropolitan areas ranking Cities above 500 000 people
GDP per capita, 2016
(or latest available year, Japan 2014)
Air pollution (PM2.5), 2017
Source: OECD Metropolitan Database. Number of metropolitan areas with a population of over 500 000: 34 in Japan compared to 327 in the OECD. * Note: Cities are defined here as functional urban areas, which are composed by high-density urban centres of at least 50 000 people and their areas of influence (commuting zone). For more information, see: http://www.oecd.org/cfe/regional-policy/functionalurbanareasbycountry.htm.
70%
6%1%
23%
United States
people in citieswith population above 500 000
peopleoutside cities
United States
people in cities withpopulation between50 000 and 250 000
127.1 million people - 77% live in cities
United StatesJapan
people in cities with population between 250 000 and 500 000
OECD average
1.2 billion people - 70%live in cities
people in citieswith population
above 500 000
people in cities withpopulation between
50 000 and 250 000
peopleoutside cities
55%
9%
30%
people in cities with populationbetween 250 000 and 500 000
6%
74% 73% 70%63%
58% 55%
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
% of nationalGDP
% of nationalemployment
% of nationalpopulation
Japan OECD average%
80%68%
Toky
o
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
1 2
%
All metropolitan areas Largest contributor
Japan OECD average
327
met
ropo
litan
area
s
0
20 000
40 000
60 000
80 000
100 000USD PPP
Top 20% richest metropolitan areas
Bottom 20% poorest metropolitan areas
0
10
20
30
Lev el of air pollution in PM 2.5 (µg/m³)
Top 20% least polluted metropolitan areas
Bottom 20% most polluted metropolitan areas
Metropolitan areas in the national economy
Updated the 5th of March 2019
Subnational government expenditure by function As a share of total subnational government expenditure, 2016
Subnational government expenditure amounts to USD 6 570 per capita in Japan compared to an OECD average of USD 6 817. In Japan, this is equivalent to 39.7% of total public expenditure and to 15.5% of GDP. In comparison, across the OECD, subnational government expenditure accounts for 40.4% of total public expenditure and for 16.2% of GDP. Social protection and Other functions (housing and community amenities, recreation, culture and religion; environment; public order and safety) are the two largest spending items for subnational governments in Japan: together they represent 45% of subnational expenditure compared to 29% in the OECD area.
In Japan, 68.7% of total public investment was carried out by subnational governments compared to an OECD average of 56.9%.
Role of subnational governments in public investment Subnational government public investment per capita, 2016
Source: OECD Subnational Government Structure and Finance Database.
OECD Regions and Cities at a Glance 2018
The 2018 edition of OECD Regions and Cities at a Glance shows how regions and cities contribute to national growth and the well-being of societies. It updates its regular set of region-by-region indicators, examining a wide range of policies and trends and identifying those regions that are outperforming or lagging behind in their country.
Consult this publication on line: https://oe.cd/pub/2n9
Social protectionSocial protection 26% 14%
Other 19% 15% Other
Education 18% 25% Education
Economic affairs 14% 14% Economic affairs
Health 12% 18% Health
General public servicesGeneral public services 0.3% 14%
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Japan OECD average
Subnational expenditure per capita: USD 6 570 USD 6 817
0
200
400
600
800
1 000
1 200
1 400
1 600
1 800
Total public investmentUSD 1 278 per capita3.0% of GDP
Subnational governmentinvestmentUSD 1 113 per capita68.7% of public invest.
USD per capita
Subnational government investmentUSD 727 per capita 56.9% of public invest.
Total public investmentUSD 1 621 per capita3.8% of GDP
OECD averageJapan
Subnational government finance