| Economy | Japan |
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Economy - overview:
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In the years following World War II, government-industry cooperation, a strong work ethic, mastery of high technology, and a comparatively small defense allocation (1% of GDP) helped Japan develop a technologically advanced economy. Today, measured on a purchasing power parity basis, Japan is the third-largest economy in the world after the US and China; measured by official exchange rates, however, Japan is the second largest economy in the world behind the US. Two notable characteristics of the post-war economy were the close interlocking structures of manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors, known as keiretsu, and the guarantee of lifetime employment for a substantial portion of the urban labor force. Both features are now eroding under the dual pressures of global competition and domestic demographic change. Japan's industrial sector is heavily dependent on imported raw materials and fuels. A tiny agricultural sector is highly subsidized and protected, with crop yields among the highest in the world. Usually self sufficient in rice, Japan imports about 60% of its food on a caloric basis. 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 inefficient investment and an asset price bubble in the late 1980s that required a protracted period of time for firms to reduce excess debt, capital, and labor. In October 2007 Japan's longest post-war period of economic expansion ended after 69 months and Japan entered into recession in 2008, with 2009 marking a return to near 0% interest rates. The Japanese financial sector was not heavily exposed to sub-prime mortgages or their derivative instruments and weathered the initial effect of the global credit crunch, but a sharp downturn in business investment and global demand for Japan's exports in late 2008 pushed Japan further into a recession. The 10-year privatization of Japan Post, which has functioned not only as the national postal delivery system but also, through its banking and insurance facilities, as Japan's largest financial institution, began in October 2007, marking a major milestone in the process of structural reform; however, in December 2009, the Democratic Party of Japan-led government passed a law to freeze future sales of Japan Post shares, halting the privatization process begun by Liberal Democratic Party governments. Debate continues on the role of and effects of reform in restructuring the economy. Japan's huge government debt, projected to have reached 192.1% of GDP in 2009, and the aging of the population are two major long-run problems. |
GDP (purchasing power parity):
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$4.141 trillion (2009 est.)
$4.392 trillion (2008 est.)
$4.423 trillion (2007 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars |
GDP - per capita (PPP):
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$32,600 (2009 est.)
$34,500 (2008 est.)
$34,700 (2007 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars |
GDP (official exchange rate):
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$5.049 trillion (2009 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate:
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-5.7% (2009 est.)
-0.7% (2008 est.)
2.3% (2007 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture: 1.6%
industry: 23.1%
services: 75.4% (2009 est.) |
Investment (gross fixed):
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20.2% of GDP (2009 est.) |
Population below poverty line:
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NA% |
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
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lowest 10%: 4.8%
highest 10%: 21.7% (1993) |
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
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38.1 (2002)
24.9 (1993) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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-1.3% (2009 est.)
1.4% (2008 est.) |
Central bank discount rate:
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0.3% (31 December 2008)
0.75% (31 December 2007) |
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
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1.91% (31 December 2008) |
Stock of money:
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$5.417 trillion (31 December 2008)
$4.37 trillion (31 December 2007) |
Stock of money - per capita:
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42,628 USD per capita |
Stock of quasi money:
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$6.16 trillion (31 December 2008)
$4.783 trillion (31 December 2007) |
Stock of quasi money - per capita:
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48,474 USD per capita |
Stock of domestic credit:
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$12.34 trillion (31 December 2008)
$9.653 trillion (31 December 2007) |
Stock of domestic credit - per capita:
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97,106 USD per capita |
Labor force:
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65.97 million (2009 est.) |
Labor force participation rate:
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51.91 % of population |
Labor force - by occupation:
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agriculture: 4.4%
industry: 27.9%
services: 66.4% (2005) |
Unemployment rate:
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5.6% (2009 est.)
3.992% (2008 est.) |
Budget:
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revenues: $1.614 trillion
expenditures: $1.997 trillion (2009 est.) |
Budget revenues per capita:
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12,701 USD per capita |
Public debt:
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192.1% of GDP (2009 est.)
172.1% of GDP (2008 est.) |
Industries:
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among world's largest and technologically advanced producers of motor vehicles, electronic equipment, machine tools, steel and nonferrous metals, ships, chemicals, textiles, processed foods |
Industrial production growth rate:
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-17% (2009 est.) |
Electricity - production:
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1.058 trillion kWh (2007 est.) |
Electricity - production per capita:
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8,326 kWh per capita |
Electricity - consumption:
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1.007 trillion kWh (2007 est.) |
Electricity - consumption - per capita:
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7,925 kWh per capita |
Electricity - exports:
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0 kWh (2008 est.) |
Electricity - imports:
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0 kWh (2008 est.) |
Oil - production:
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133,100 bbl/day (2008 est.) |
Oil - production per capita:
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1,048 bbl/day per capita |
Oil - consumption:
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4.785 million bbl/day (2008 est.) |
Oil - consumption - per capita:
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13.74 bbl/year per capita |
Oil - exports:
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268,300 bbl/day (2008 est.) |
Oil - imports:
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5.263 million bbl/day (2008 est.) |
Oil - proved reserves:
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44.12 million bbl (1 January 2009 est.) |
Natural gas - production:
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5.36 billion cu m (2008 est.) |
Natural gas - production per capita:
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43 cu m per capita |
Natural gas - consumption:
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101.1 billion cu m (2008 est.) |
Natural gas - consumption - per capita:
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796 cu m per capita |
Natural gas - exports:
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0 cu m (2008 est.) |
Natural gas - imports:
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95.39 billion cu m (2008 est.) |
Natural gas - proved reserves:
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20.9 billion cu m (1 January 2009 est.) |
Agriculture - products:
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rice, sugar beets, vegetables, fruit; pork, poultry, dairy products, eggs; fish |
Current account balance:
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$131.2 billion (2009 est.)
$156.6 billion (2008 est.) |
Current account balance - per capita:
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1,033 USD per capita |
Exports:
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$516.3 billion (2009 est.)
$746.5 billion (2008 est.) |
Exports per capita:
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4,063 USD per capita |
Exports - commodities:
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transport equipment, motor vehicles, semiconductors, electrical machinery, chemicals |
Exports - partners:
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US 17.8%, China 16%, South Korea 7.6%, Hong Kong 5.1% (2008) |
Imports:
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$490.6 billion (2009 est.)
$708.3 billion (2008 est.) |
Imports per capita:
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3,861 USD per capita |
Imports - commodities:
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machinery and equipment, fuels, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, raw materials |
Imports - partners:
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China 18.9%, US 10.4%, Saudi Arabia 6.7%, Australia 6.2%, UAE 6.1%, Indonesia 4.3% (2008) |
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
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$NA (31 December 2009 est.)
$1.011 trillion (31 December 2008 est.) |
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold - per capita:
|
void |
Debt - external:
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$2.132 trillion (30 June 2009 est.)
$2.231 trillion (31 December 2008 est.) |
Debt - external - per capita:
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16,778 USD per capita |
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
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$151.5 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
$135.4 billion (31 December 2008 est.) |
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home - per capita:
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1,193 USD per capita |
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
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$730.3 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
$663.9 billion (31 December 2008 est.) |
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad - per capita:
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5,747 USD per capita |
Market value of publicly traded shares:
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$NA (31 December 2008)
$4.453 trillion (31 December 2007)
$4.726 trillion (31 December 2006) |
Market value of publicly traded shares - per capita:
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void |
Economic aid - donor:
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$11.19 billion |
Economic aid - recipient:
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void |
Economic aid - recipient per capita:
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void |
Currency (code):
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yen (JPY) |
Exchange rates:
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yen (JPY) per US dollar - 94.5 (2009), 103.58 (2008), 117.99 (2007), 116.18 (2006), 110.22 (2005) |
Fiscal year:
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1 April - 31 March |
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