Japan runs 104.2 men per 100 women aged 20–39 against 111.9 in South Korea. Visa-free entry is 90 days against 90. On the 16 measures both countries carry, Japan leads 6.
The difference at a glance
- South Korea has 7.7 more men per 100 women aged 20–39 than Japan.
- Visa-free entry is effectively the same in Japan and South Korea.
- The top income tax rate is effectively the same in Japan and South Korea.
- English proficiency is 76 points higher in South Korea than in Japan.
- The homicide rate is 0.3 per 100,000 higher in South Korea than in Japan.
- Life expectancy is effectively the same in Japan and South Korea.
- GDP per capita is 13.9% higher in South Korea than in Japan.
- The nomad visa allows 18 months more in South Korea than in Japan.
Green favours South Korea. Country figures. Cities inside one country differ, often by more than the countries differ from each other.
Head to head
Each row is named for the thing more of which is better, so a longer bar always wins.
Longer is better. Bar length is the rank among all countries we hold that measure for, not a share of the pair.
Every country measure, side by side
National figures throughout. What a city inside either country costs, and how its own sex ratio runs, is the table below this one.
| National men per 100 womenthe city figure is above | 104.2 | 111.9 | 7.7 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visa-free entrylongest headline entry for a typical Western passport | 90 | 90 | 0 days |
| Top personal income tax rateheadline rate, not an effective rate | 45% | 45% | 0 points |
| English proficiencyadult proficiency score | 446 | 522 | 76 points |
| Homicide rateper 100,000 per year | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.3 |
| Life expectancyyears at birth | 84.0 | 83.6 | 0.4 years |
| GDP per capitacurrent USD | $55,422 | $63,125 | $7,703 |
| Female labour force participationno direction is asserted | 56% | 57% | — |
| Fertility ratebirths per woman | 1.15 | 0.75 | — |
| Obesity, womenage-standardised | 3.7% | 6.0% | 2.3 points |
| Mean height, womenadults | 158 cm / 5′2″ | 163 cm / 5′4″ | — |
| Political stability0 to 100, higher is more stable | 85/100 | 77/100 | 8 points |
| Low corruption0 to 100, higher is cleaner | 75/100 | 65/100 | 10 points |
| Digital nomad visamax stay; headline route, not a guarantee | 6 months | 24 months | 4.00× |
| Never-married women, 20–39census or survey, years differ between countries | 52.8% | 54.7% | — |
| Main languagethe city may differ | Japanese | Korean | — |
Data updated August 6, 2026.
Sex ratio by age
Men per 100 women in each five-year band, with 100 as parity. National census age×sex tables, which is the one figure on this page no cost-of-living site holds.
Every city we track in both
A national sex ratio is an average of places that do not resemble each other. These are the cities behind it.
Japan
Japan spans 19.4 points across its 10 tracked cities, South Korea 18.2 across 6. The national figure is the average of neither.
Every Japan municipality by male-to-female ratio → Every South Korea eup/myeon/dong by male-to-female ratio →
Put Japan and South Korea on the same board
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