Where is it better to live in Peru or in Japan?
To answer the question - which country - Peru or Japan, is more comfortable for living, let’s compare different constituents which make the standard of living:
Would you like to contrast other countries? Fill them in the proper gaps and choose the criteria for comparison:
Perhaps, it’s difficult to argue that it’s better to live in a rich country than in a poor one. As of 2024 year data, the basic indicator of the economic development - GDP by purchasing power parity per capita - was:
● In Peru - 17,6 thousand dollars,
● In Japan - 53,1 thousand dollars.
Thus, according to the gross production per one person, Japan leaves Peru behind by %.
Let’s compare the data about minimum and average labor level pay in both countries.
● The minimum wage in Peru set at 1,130 soles (about US$ 300);
● The minimum wage in Japan varies from 853 to 1,072 yen per hour (equivalent to approximately US$ 1,200 to US$ 1,400 per month for a five-day week).
The average gross salary (before the taxes and other mandatory fees) is:
● in Peru - 1,873 soles (515 US$);
● in Japan - 430,000 yen (about 3000 US$).
Where are the prices lower? up↑
The average GDP gap per capita is narrowed down by the difference in cost of living. According to the statistics of the data base Numbeo, at the beginning of 2025 year, Peru is a cheaper country.
The price level in Peru for basic goods and services (including food, consumer goods, transport, mobile connection and utility bills) is on average % lower than in Japan. In other words, at the current exchange rate 1000 dollars in Japan will have the same purchasing power as dollars in Peru.
Where is the crime rate lower? up↑
One can evaluate the general level of criminal situation with the help of “crime rate”. This indicator is calculated by the portal Numbeo, which specializes in rating scores of different life aspects in all the world regions and shows how safe it is to live in the country from a risk of becoming a victim of lawbreakers (the higher the crime rate is, the higher the risk is). As of 2025 year, the crime rate is:
● in Peru - 67.1;
● in Japan - 22.9
***
To estimate the population law-abidingness and law enforcement activity, let’s pay attention to the statics of premeditated murders and to the data about the number of Peruvians and Japanese, being imprisoned.
Yearly out of 100 thousand people, murders kill:
● in Peru - 5.71 people;
● in Japan - 0.23 people
***As of 2023 year, in prisons and criminal camps the number of inmates is:
● in Peru - 87.5 thousand, or 259 prisoners per 100,000 people;
● in Japan - 47.1 thousand, or 38 prisoners per 100,000 people
So, if we consider the risks connected with the crimes, the safer country is definitely Japan.
Where do people get sick less and live longer? up↑
The life quality is greatly defined by how long the people live. According to the latest data, the life expectancy is:
● in Peru - 79.9 years (78.5 years among men and 81.3 years among women)
● in Japan - 84.3 years (81.5 years among men and 86.9 years among women)
***
To get an idea about the nation’s health and the system of health care, one should look at the spread of dangerous diseases in the country. Let’s compare where people often suffer from such diseases as HIV-infections, tuberculosis and cancer.
According to the data of the World Health Organization (WHO), the spread of HIV-infections is:
● in Peru - 110000 of the infected (0.32% of population)
● in Japan - 12000 of the infected (0.01% of population)
The number of people infected by tuberculosis is:
● in Peru - 39000 people (119 per 100,000 people);
● in Japan - 17000 people (13 per 100,000 people)
The cancer situation is the following:
● in Peru per 100 000 people yearly one finds 176.3 new cases of the disease and registers 85.5 lethal cases;
● in Japan per 100k people every year one fixes 285.1 of newly infected people and 81.5 lethal cases from cancer.
We should not judge about the quality of medicine only by the number of cancer cases, we should look at the ratio between the number of new cases and the number of cancer deaths (the lower it is, the higher the rate of the cured ones is; consequently, the better the health care system works). In the countries under consideration, we see the following ratio between the newly-infected and the dead:
● in Peru - ;
● in Japan -
***
We can estimate the effectiveness of the health care systems of Peru and Japan on the base of the health care quality index which is estimated by Nubmbeo. The index comprehensively displays how bad or good it is in the country with medical services, taking into consideration hospital facilities, medicines, staff professionalism and treatment availability in terms of cost. As of 2025 year, the index is:
● in Peru - 56.3;
● in Japan - 80
Where do people drink and smoke less? up↑
It’s considered that It’s more comfortable to live in that country where people are less exposed to bad habits. The following WHO data show that the situation with the alcohol consumption (pure alcohol) runs as this:
● in Peru - 6.4 liters per every person older 15 years old (about 9.8 litres per every man and 3.1 litres per every woman);
● in Japan - 8 liters per every person older 15 years old (about 12.3 litres per every man and 3.9 litres per every woman)
How noticeable are the differences in alcoholic beverages of the Peruvians and the Japanese?
● in Peru, in terms of pure alcohol, beer accounts for 46.8% % of consumption, wine accounts for 6.1% of consumption, strong drinks (vodka and cognac, etc.) account for 47.1%;
● in Japan beer accounts for 19.2% from the total amount of alcohol consumption, wine accounts for 4.1%, strong drinks - 52%, all the rest (including braga, moonshine, etc. ) - 24.7%
***
Addiction to smoking in the countries under consideration is seen like that:
● in Peru there are 7,1 % of active smokers among the adults (11,6 % of adult males and 2,6 % of adult females smoke there);
● in Japan 19,2 % of adult population smoke on a constant base (28,7 % of men and 9,6 % of women)
By unit tobacco consumption per capita the leader is Japan - here on average every adult smokes 1583 cigarettes per year, against 98 cigarettes per capita in Peru.
Where do people have more reasons to be satisfied with their lives? up↑
Perhaps, it’s very difficult to make up an indicator, with the help of which one can define how much the people of this or that country are satisfied by their lives. Nevertheless, there have been a couple of researches.
For example, the UN experts calculate a so-called "Rating of countries by the Happiness Index”, which helps to understand to what degree the states provide their citizens with the happy life. As of 2023 data, the happiest ones are Japanese, their happiness index is 6.129, meanwhile in Peru the happiness index is equal to 5.526.
***
There is also an overall index, which is used by UNO - Human Development Index (HDI). This index considers various reasons why citizens feel comfortable. According to 2022 data, HDI in Peru is 0.762; in Japan - 0.925.
***
To indirectly evaluate how much the people are satisfied with their lives, one can consider the number of suicides. It comes logically that the better the lives of the people are arranged, the fewer reasons for the suicides there are. In the countries under consideration, per 100 000 people there are:
● in Peru - 2,7 suicides (4,1 among men and 1,4 among women) ;
● in Japan - 12,2 suicides (17,5 among men and 6,9 among women)
Share with friends!
