---
title: "Japan vs Spain — area, population, currency"
description: "Japan is 377,915 km² with 123,366,734 people; Spain is 505,370 km² with 49,355,143. Area, density, currency, languages and time zones side by side."
url: https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/japan-vs-spain/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Japan vs Spain

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

377,915 km² vs 505,370 km² · 123,366,734 vs 49,355,143

Spain is 1.3 times larger than Japan — 505,370 against 377,915 km². Japan is 2.5 times more populous than Spain — 123,366,734 against 49,355,143 people.

## Side by side

|  | Japan | Spain |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Capital | Tokyo | Madrid |
| Area | 377,915 km² | 505,370 km² |
| Population | 123,366,734 (2025) | 49,355,143 (2025) |
| Density | 326.4 /km² | 97.7 /km² |
| Currency | Japanese yen (JPY) | Euro (EUR) |
| Official languages | Japanese | Spanish |
| Time zones | UTC+09:00 | UTC+00:00, UTC+01:00 |
| Calling code | +81 | +34 |
| Drives on the | left | right |
| Continent | Asia | Europe |
| ISO codes | JP / JPN | ES / ESP |

## Population density

Japan is 3.3 times more densely populated than Spain — 326 against 98 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, Spain on the right.
- Different currencies: the Japanese yen and the Euro.
- Spain spans 2 time zones, so "local time" there is not a single answer.
- 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.

## Spain

After Switzerland, Spain is the most mountainous country in Europe, with an average elevation around 650 m. The Canary Islands sit off Africa, which is why part of Spain is on a different time zone and why Teide, at 3,715 m, is the country's highest point. Spain has more olive trees than any other country, around 340 million.

> 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 Spain?

Spain is larger — 505,370 km² against 377,915 km².

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

Japan, with 123,366,734 against 49,355,143.

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

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

## Related pages

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