|
Economy - overview:
|
In the years
following World War II, government-industry cooperation, a strong work ethic,
mastery of high technology, and a comparatively small defense allocation
(1% of GDP) helped Japan advance with extraordinary speed to the rank of
second most technologically powerful economy in the world after the US. Today,
measured on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis, Japan is the third-largest
economy in the world after the US and China. Two notable characteristic of
the post-war economy were the close interlocking structures of manufacturers,
suppliers, and distributors, known as keiretsu, and the guarantee of lifetime
employment for a substantial portion of the urban labor force. Both features
are now eroding under the dual pressures of global competition and domestic
demographic change. Japan's industrial sector is heavily dependent on imported
raw materials and fuels. A tiny agricultural sector is highly subsidized
and protected, with crop yields among the highest in the world. Usually self
sufficient in rice, Japan imports about 60% of its food on a caloric basis.
Japan maintains one of the world's largest fishing fleets and accounts for
nearly 15% of the global catch. For three decades, overall real economic
growth had been spectacular - a 10% average in the 1960s, a 5% average in
the 1970s, and a 4% average in the 1980s. Growth slowed markedly in the 1990s,
averaging just 1.7%, largely because of the after effects of inefficient
investment and an asset price bubble in the late 1980s that required a protracted
period of time for firms to reduce excess debt, capital, and labor. In October
2007 Japan's longest post-war period of economic expansion ended after 69
months and Japan entered into recession in 2008, with 2009 marking a return
to near 0% interest rates. The 10-year privatization of Japan Post, which
has functioned not only as the national postal delivery system but also,
through its banking and insurance facilities as Japan's largest financial
institution, was completed in October 2007, marking a major milestone in
the process of structural reform. The Japanese financial sector was not heavily
exposed to sub-prime mortgages or their derivative instruments and weathered
the initial effect of the global credit crunch, but a sharp downturn in business
investment and global demand for Japan's exports in late 2008 pushed Japan
further into a recession. Japan's huge government debt, which totals 170%
of GDP, and the aging of the population are two major long-run problems.
Debate continues on the role of and effects of reform in restructuring the
economy. |
|
GDP (purchasing power parity):
|
$4.329 trillion
(2008 est.)
$4.36 trillion
(2007 est.)
$4.262 trillion
(2006 est.)
note:
data are in 2008 US dollars
|
|
GDP (official exchange rate):
|
$4.924 trillion
(2008 est.) |
|
GDP - real growth rate:
|
-0.7% (2008 est.)
2.3% (2007
est.)
2% (2006
est.)
|
|
GDP - per capita (PPP):
|
$34,000 (2008
est.)
34,200 (2007 est.)
$33,400
(2006 est.)
note:
data are in 2008 US dollars
|
|
GDP - composition by sector:
|
agriculture: 1.5%
industry:
26.3%
services:
72.3%
(2008 est.)
|
|
Labor force:
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66.5 million
(2008 est.) |
|
Labor force - by occupation:
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agriculture: 4.4%
industry:
27.9%
services:
66.4%
(2005)
|
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Unemployment rate:
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4% (2008 est.)
|
|
Population below poverty line:
|
NA% |
|
Household income or consumption by percentage
share:
|
lowest 10%:
4.8%
highest 10%: 21.7% (1993) |
|
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
|
38.1 (2002)
|
|
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
|
1.4% (2008 est.)
|
|
Investment (gross fixed):
|
23% of GDP (2008
est.) |
|
Budget:
|
revenues: $1.72 trillion
expenditures:
$1.788
trillion (2008 est.)
|
|
Public debt:
|
173% of GDP (2008
est.)
164.3% of GDP (2004 est.)
|
|
Agriculture - products:
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rice, sugar beets,
vegetables, fruit; pork, poultry, dairy products, eggs; fish |
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Industries:
|
among world's
largest and technologically advanced producers of motor vehicles, electronic
equipment, machine tools, steel and nonferrous metals, ships, chemicals,
textiles, processed foods |
|
Industrial production growth rate:
|
-2% (2008 est.)
|
|
Electricity - production:
|
1.195 trillion
kWh (2007 est.) |
|
Electricity - consumption:
|
1.08 trillion
kWh (2006 est.) |
|
Electricity - exports:
|
0 kWh (2007 est.)
|
|
Electricity - imports:
|
0 kWh (2007 est.)
|
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Oil - production:
|
132,400 bbl/day
(2007) |
|
Oil - consumption:
|
5.007 million
bbl/day (2007) |
|
Oil - exports:
|
240,000 bbl/day
(2007) |
|
Oil - imports:
|
5.032 million
bbl/day (2007) |
|
Oil - proved reserves:
|
44.12 million
bbl (1 January 2008 est.) |
|
Natural gas - production:
|
3.729 billion
cu m (2007 est.) |
|
Natural gas - consumption:
|
100.3 billion
cu m (2007 est.) |
|
Natural gas - exports:
|
0 cu m (2007
est.) |
|
Natural gas - imports:
|
95.62 billion
cu m (2007 est.) |
|
Natural gas - proved reserves:
|
20.9 billion
cu m (1 January 2008 est.) |
|
Current account balance:
|
$156.6 billion
(2008 est.)
$210.5 billion (2007 est.)
|
|
Exports:
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$746.5 billion
(2008 est.)
$678.1 billion (2007 est.) |
|
Exports - commodities:
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transport equipment,
motor vehicles, semiconductors, electrical machinery, chemicals |
|
Exports - partners:
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US 17.8%, China
16%, South Korea 7.6%, Hong Kong 5.1% (2008) |
|
Imports:
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$708.3 billion
(2008 est.)
$573.3 billion (2007 est.)
|
|
Imports - commodities:
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machinery and
equipment, fuels, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, raw materials |
|
Imports - partners:
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China 18.9%,
US 10.4%, Saudi Arabia 6.7%, Australia 6.2%, UAE 6.1%, Indonesia 4.3% (2008)
|
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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
|
$1.011 trillion
(31 December 2008 est.) |
|
Debt - external:
|
$2.231 trillion
(31 December 2008) |
|
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
|
$135.4 billion
(31 December 2008 est.) |
|
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
|
$663.9 billion
(31 December 2008 est.) |
|
Market value of publicly traded shares:
|
$NA (31 December
2008) |
|
Currency (code):
|
yen (JPY) |
|
Exchange rates:
|
yen (JPY) per
US dollar - 103.58 (2008 est.), 117.99 (2007), 116.18 (2006), 110.22 (2005),
108.19 (2004) |
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Fiscal year:
|
1 April - 31
March |
