Share of workers employed in services vs. GDP per capita in Japan
Japan: Share of workers employed in services vs. GDP per capita was 72.7% in 2012. ▲ Rising
Share of workers employed in services vs. GDP per capita in Japan, 1872–2012
Source: Herrendorf et al. and Groningen Growth and Development Centre (2015) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of workers employed in services vs. gdp per capita in Japan is 72.7%, measured in 2012. That is the highest value across all 69 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.4% on the previous year and up 8.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of workers employed in services vs. gdp per capita in Japan peaked at 72.7% in 2012 and was at its lowest, 10.2%, in 1872.
That places Japan 9th out of 44 countries with data for 2012, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 69 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 10.2% | 10.2% | 10.2% | 1 |
| 1880s | 11.1% | 11.1% | 11.1% | 1 |
| 1890s | 13.5% | 13.5% | 13.5% | 1 |
| 1900s | 16.2% | 16.2% | 16.2% | 1 |
| 1910s | 19.3% | 19.3% | 19.3% | 1 |
| 1920s | 24.3% | 24.3% | 24.3% | 1 |
| 1930s | 28.1% | 28.1% | 28.1% | 1 |
| 1940s | 27.3% | 27.3% | 27.3% | 1 |
| 1950s | 36.5% | 29.1% | 40.0% | 8 |
| 1960s | 44.4% | 40.4% | 47.8% | 10 |
| 1970s | 52.4% | 48.6% | 55.6% | 10 |
| 1980s | 58.0% | 56.0% | 59.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 61.5% | 59.1% | 64.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 68.4% | 65.3% | 71.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 72.4% | 72.0% | 72.7% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Japan
More work & labour data for Japan
- Legislation on sexual harassment in employment 0 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Criminal sanctions or compensation for workplace sexual harassment 0 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Women can take the same jobs as men 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15+) 63.4% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15+) 71.5% (2025)
- Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) 78.2% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 55.9% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15-6 82.3% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) 87.5% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 77.0% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of workers employed in services vs. gdp per capita in Japan?
- Share of workers employed in services vs. gdp per capita in Japan was 72.7% in 2012, according to Herrendorf et al. and Groningen Growth and Development Centre (2015) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of workers employed in services vs. gdp per capita recorded in Japan?
- The highest recorded value was 72.7% in 2012.
- What is the lowest share of workers employed in services vs. gdp per capita recorded in Japan?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.2% in 1872.
- How does Japan rank for share of workers employed in services vs. gdp per capita?
- Japan ranks 9th out of 44 countries with data for 2012.
- Is share of workers employed in services vs. gdp per capita rising or falling in Japan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Japan data come from?
- The figures come from Herrendorf et al. and Groningen Growth and Development Centre (2015) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of workers employed in services vs. GDP per capita. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 69 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The vertical axis shows historical estimates of the employment share in the service sector. The horizontal axis shows GDP per capita, adjusted for inflation and differences in living costs between countries.