---
title: "Italy vs Japan — area, population, currency"
description: "Italy is 301,340 km² with 58,915,656 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/italy-vs-japan/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Italy vs Japan

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

301,340 km² vs 377,915 km² · 58,915,656 vs 123,366,734

Japan is 1.3 times larger than Italy — 377,915 against 301,340 km². Japan is 2.1 times more populous than Italy — 123,366,734 against 58,915,656 people.

## Side by side

|  | Italy | Japan |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Capital | Rome | Tokyo |
| Area | 301,340 km² | 377,915 km² |
| Population | 58,915,656 (2025) | 123,366,734 (2025) |
| Density | 195.5 /km² | 326.4 /km² |
| Currency | Euro (EUR) | Japanese yen (JPY) |
| Official languages | Italian | Japanese |
| Time zones | UTC+01:00 | UTC+09:00 |
| Calling code | +39 | +81 |
| Drives on the | right | left |
| Continent | Europe | Asia |
| ISO codes | IT / ITA | JP / JPN |

## Population density

Japan is 1.7 times more densely populated than Italy — 326 against 196 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 — Italy on the right, Japan on the left.
- Different currencies: the Euro and the Japanese yen.
- Different continents — Europe and Asia.

## Italy

Italy has three of Europe's most active volcanoes — Etna, Stromboli and Vesuvius — and Stromboli has been erupting more or less continuously for at least 2,000 years. It has more UNESCO World Heritage sites than any other country. The Alps and Apennines mean about three-quarters of the land is mountain or hill.

## 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 Italy bigger than Japan?

Japan is larger — 377,915 km² against 301,340 km².

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

Japan, with 123,366,734 against 58,915,656.

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

Italy 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

- [Italy](https://atoneplace.net/country/italy/)
- [Japan](https://atoneplace.net/country/japan/)
- [India vs Japan](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/india-vs-japan/)
- [India vs Italy](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/india-vs-italy/)
- [China vs Japan](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/china-vs-japan/)
- [China vs Italy](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/china-vs-italy/)
- [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/)

## 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]