---
title: "Japan vs Norway — area, population, currency"
description: "Japan is 377,915 km² with 123,366,734 people; Norway is 323,802 km² with 5,610,870. Area, density, currency, languages and time zones side by side."
url: https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/japan-vs-norway/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Japan vs Norway

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

377,915 km² vs 323,802 km² · 123,366,734 vs 5,610,870

Japan is 1.2 times larger than Norway — 377,915 against 323,802 km². Japan is 22 times more populous than Norway — 123,366,734 against 5,610,870 people.

## Side by side

|  | Japan | Norway |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Capital | Tokyo | Oslo |
| Area | 377,915 km² | 323,802 km² |
| Population | 123,366,734 (2025) | 5,610,870 (2025) |
| Density | 326.4 /km² | 17.3 /km² |
| Currency | Japanese yen (JPY) | Norwegian krone (NOK) |
| Official languages | Japanese | Norwegian (Bokmål), Norwegian (Nynorsk), Sami |
| Time zones | UTC+09:00 | UTC+01:00 |
| Calling code | +81 | +47 |
| Drives on the | left | right |
| Continent | Asia | Europe |
| ISO codes | JP / JPN | NO / NOR |

## Population density

Japan is 19 times more densely populated than Norway — 326 against 17 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 — Japan on the left, Norway on the right.
- Different currencies: the Japanese yen and the Norwegian krone.
- Different continents — Asia and Europe.

## 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.

## Norway

The mainland coastline is about 2,500 km end to end, but roughly 25,000 km following the fjords, and over 100,000 km counting the islands — one of the longest coastlines of any country. Sognefjord runs 205 km inland and is 1,308 m deep. Norway generates almost all its electricity from hydropower.

> 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 Japan bigger than Norway?

Japan is larger — 377,915 km² against 323,802 km².

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

Japan, with 123,366,734 against 5,610,870.

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

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

## Related pages

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