---
title: "Germany vs Japan — area, population, currency"
description: "Germany is 357,022 km² with 83,491,249 people; Japan is 377,915 km² with 123,366,734. Area, density, currency, languages and time zones side by side."
url: https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/germany-vs-japan/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Germany vs Japan

**Germany vs Japan: Japan is larger; Japan has more people**

357,022 km² vs 377,915 km² · 83,491,249 vs 123,366,734

Japan is slightly larger, by 5.9% — 377,915 against 357,022 km². Japan is 1.5 times more populous than Germany — 123,366,734 against 83,491,249 people.

## Side by side

|  | Germany | Japan |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Capital | Berlin | Tokyo |
| Area | 357,022 km² | 377,915 km² |
| Population | 83,491,249 (2025) | 123,366,734 (2025) |
| Density | 233.9 /km² | 326.4 /km² |
| Currency | Euro (EUR) | Japanese yen (JPY) |
| Official languages | German | Japanese |
| Time zones | UTC+01:00 | UTC+09:00 |
| Calling code | +49 | +81 |
| Drives on the | right | left |
| Continent | Europe | Asia |
| ISO codes | DE / DEU | JP / JPN |

## Population density

Japan is 1.4 times more densely populated than Germany — 326 against 234 people per km². Density is where area and population interact, and it often reverses the impression the headline figures give — a large country with a small population can feel emptier than a small crowded one by an enormous margin.

## Practical differences

- They drive on opposite sides — Germany on the right, Japan on the left.
- Different currencies: the Euro and the Japanese yen.
- Different continents — Europe and Asia.

## Germany

Germany borders nine countries, more than any other in Europe. The Rhine carries more freight than any other river in Europe. The country has around 25,000 castles and palaces, and the Black Forest and Bavarian Alps mean about a third of it is wooded.

## Japan

A 2023 government survey using digital mapping counted 14,125 islands, more than double the long-quoted figure of 6,852. About three-quarters of the land is mountain, so nearly everyone lives on a narrow band of coastal plain. Japan sits where four tectonic plates meet and records a fifth of the world's magnitude-6-and-above earthquakes.

> Neutral facts only. Nothing here addresses politics, government, economics or which country is preferable in any respect — population is the one figure that dates, and it carries its year.

## Common questions

### Is Germany bigger than Japan?

Japan is larger — 377,915 km² against 357,022 km².

### Which has more people, Germany or Japan?

Japan, with 123,366,734 against 83,491,249.

### What is the time difference between Germany and Japan?

Germany is UTC+01:00 and Japan is UTC+09:00. Daylight saving shifts the gap during the year in places that observe it.

## Related pages

- [Germany](https://atoneplace.net/country/germany/)
- [Japan](https://atoneplace.net/country/japan/)
- [India vs Japan](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/india-vs-japan/)
- [China vs Japan](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/china-vs-japan/)
- [China vs Germany](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/china-vs-germany/)
- [Japan vs United States](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/japan-vs-united-states/)
- [Japan vs United Kingdom](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/japan-vs-united-kingdom/)
- [Japan vs New Zealand](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/japan-vs-new-zealand/)
- [Japan vs Russia](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/japan-vs-russia/)
- [Japan vs Mexico](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/japan-vs-mexico/)
- [Japan vs Spain](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/japan-vs-spain/)
- [Japan vs South Korea](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/japan-vs-south-korea/)
- [Japan vs Netherlands](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/japan-vs-netherlands/)
- [Japan vs Nigeria](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/japan-vs-nigeria/)

## Sources

- The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency (https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/) [Public domain (US Government)]
- World Bank Open Data — The World Bank (https://data.worldbank.org/) [CC BY 4.0]