Geography
- Japan is the 60th largest country in the world (out of over 200) in terms of land area. It is 25x smaller than the USA or People's Republic of China, but is slightly bigger than Germany, 3x bigger than England, and 9x bigger than the Netherlands.
- Japan is the 10th most populous country in the world. It's population is equal to the UK, France and Denmark combined.
- Japan ranks 18th worlwide in terms density of population, behind such countries as Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Bangladesh, the Netherlands and Belgium. If England was counted as a country (separate from the UK), its density of population would be slightly higher than Japan. Japan's population density if 11x higher than the US, and slightly lower than the states of New Jersey or Rhode Island.
Society
- Japan has the oldest surviving monarchy in the world. The first historical emperor of Japan was Ojin, reigning from year 270 to 310, and was deified as Hachiman. Legend has it that the very first emperor was Jinmu, 1000 years earlier.
- Japan's national anthem, Kimi Ga Yo (君が代), is the oldest in the world, although it was only officially recognised as such in 1999. It is based on a 9th century poem.
- Japan has one of the highest life expectancy in the world, only surpassed by small countries like Andorra, San Marino, Hong Kong, Macau and Singapore. Japanese people live in average 4 years longer than US citizens, 2.5 years longer than the Germans or Belgians, and 1.5 years longer than French or Italian people.
Figures for 2005
Bookmarks