---
title: "Japan vs Switzerland — area, population, currency"
description: "Japan is 377,915 km² with 123,366,734 people; Switzerland is 41,277 km² with 9,092,436. Area, density, currency, languages and time zones side by side."
url: https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/japan-vs-switzerland/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Japan vs Switzerland

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

377,915 km² vs 41,277 km² · 123,366,734 vs 9,092,436

Japan is 9.2 times larger than Switzerland — 377,915 against 41,277 km². Japan is 14 times more populous than Switzerland — 123,366,734 against 9,092,436 people.

## Side by side

|  | Japan | Switzerland |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Capital | Tokyo | Bern |
| Area | 377,915 km² | 41,277 km² |
| Population | 123,366,734 (2025) | 9,092,436 (2025) |
| Density | 326.4 /km² | 220.3 /km² |
| Currency | Japanese yen (JPY) | Swiss franc (CHF) |
| Official languages | Japanese | German, French, Italian, Romansh |
| Time zones | UTC+09:00 | UTC+01:00 |
| Calling code | +81 | +41 |
| Drives on the | left | right |
| Continent | Asia | Europe |
| ISO codes | JP / JPN | CH / CHE |

## Population density

Japan is 1.5 times more densely populated than Switzerland — 326 against 220 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, Switzerland on the right.
- Different currencies: the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc.
- 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.

## Switzerland

The most mountainous country in Europe: the Alps cover about sixty percent of it and it has 48 peaks over 4,000 m. The Gotthard Base Tunnel, 57 km long, is the longest and deepest rail tunnel in the world. Switzerland has four official languages and about 1,500 lakes.

> 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 Switzerland?

Japan is larger — 377,915 km² against 41,277 km².

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

Japan, with 123,366,734 against 9,092,436.

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

Japan is UTC+09:00 and Switzerland 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/)
- [Switzerland](https://atoneplace.net/country/switzerland/)
- [India vs Japan](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/india-vs-japan/)
- [India vs Switzerland](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/india-vs-switzerland/)
- [China vs Japan](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/china-vs-japan/)
- [China vs Switzerland](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/china-vs-switzerland/)
- [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]