Womens educational attainment vs fertility in Japan
Japan: Womens educational attainment vs fertility was 1.21 in 2023. ▼ Falling
Womens educational attainment vs fertility in Japan, 1950–2023
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for womens educational attainment vs fertility in Japan is 1.21, measured in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 74 years on record.
That represents a change of down 3.8% on the previous year and down 13.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, womens educational attainment vs fertility in Japan peaked at 3.62 in 1950 and was at its lowest, 1.21, in 2023.
That places Japan 216th out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 74 years of available data.
Womens educational attainment vs fertility in Japan, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 3.62 | — |
| 1951 | 3.23 | -10.8% |
| 1952 | 2.95 | -8.6% |
| 1953 | 2.67 | -9.3% |
| 1954 | 2.47 | -7.7% |
| 1955 | 2.35 | -4.8% |
| 1956 | 2.21 | -6.1% |
| 1957 | 2.04 | -7.7% |
| 1958 | 2.1 | +3.0% |
| 1959 | 2.04 | -3.0% |
| 1960 | 1.98 | -2.7% |
| 1961 | 1.93 | -2.7% |
| 1962 | 1.93 | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 1.95 | +1.2% |
| 1964 | 2 | +2.4% |
| 1965 | 2.09 | +4.6% |
| 1966 | 1.63 | -21.9% |
| 1967 | 2.16 | +32.2% |
| 1968 | 2.06 | -4.3% |
| 1969 | 2.03 | -1.9% |
| 1970 | 2.04 | +0.4% |
| 1971 | 2.09 | +2.7% |
| 1972 | 2.11 | +1.2% |
| 1973 | 2.15 | +1.5% |
| 1974 | 2.06 | -3.7% |
| 1975 | 1.92 | -7.0% |
| 1976 | 1.84 | -4.2% |
| 1977 | 1.79 | -2.8% |
| 1978 | 1.79 | -0.2% |
| 1979 | 1.77 | -1.0% |
| 1980 | 1.74 | -1.7% |
| 1981 | 1.72 | -1.2% |
| 1982 | 1.74 | +1.2% |
| 1983 | 1.77 | +1.8% |
| 1984 | 1.78 | +0.6% |
| 1985 | 1.74 | -2.5% |
| 1986 | 1.7 | -2.2% |
| 1987 | 1.67 | -1.9% |
| 1988 | 1.62 | -2.5% |
| 1989 | 1.55 | -4.8% |
| 1990 | 1.51 | -2.5% |
| 1991 | 1.5 | -0.3% |
| 1992 | 1.48 | -1.7% |
| 1993 | 1.44 | -2.6% |
| 1994 | 1.47 | +1.9% |
| 1995 | 1.41 | -4.2% |
| 1996 | 1.4 | -0.3% |
| 1997 | 1.38 | -1.9% |
| 1998 | 1.37 | -0.4% |
| 1999 | 1.34 | -2.3% |
| 2000 | 1.35 | +0.4% |
| 2001 | 1.32 | -1.6% |
| 2002 | 1.31 | -1.3% |
| 2003 | 1.28 | -1.8% |
| 2004 | 1.28 | -0.6% |
| 2005 | 1.25 | -2.5% |
| 2006 | 1.28 | +3.2% |
| 2007 | 1.3 | +1.6% |
| 2008 | 1.33 | +1.9% |
| 2009 | 1.33 | +0.2% |
| 2010 | 1.36 | +1.8% |
| 2011 | 1.36 | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 1.38 | +1.0% |
| 2013 | 1.39 | +0.9% |
| 2014 | 1.39 | -0.1% |
| 2015 | 1.42 | +1.9% |
| 2016 | 1.41 | -0.5% |
| 2017 | 1.39 | -1.3% |
| 2018 | 1.37 | -1.2% |
| 2019 | 1.32 | -3.6% |
| 2020 | 1.3 | -1.4% |
| 2021 | 1.27 | -2.2% |
| 2022 | 1.26 | -1.5% |
| 2023 | 1.21 | -3.8% |
Japan compared with similar countries
- Japan's 1.21 is below the median for high income countries, which is 1.5, 80% of the median. (85 countries reporting)
- Japan's 1.21 is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 2.13, 57% of the median. (37 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Womens educational attainment vs fertility in Japan changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | +32.2% | 1.63 | 2.16 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 2.57 | 2.04 | 3.62 | 10 |
| 1960s | 1.98 | 1.63 | 2.16 | 10 |
| 1970s | 1.96 | 1.77 | 2.15 | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.7 | 1.55 | 1.78 | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.43 | 1.34 | 1.51 | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.3 | 1.25 | 1.35 | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.38 | 1.32 | 1.42 | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.26 | 1.21 | 1.3 | 4 |
Countries ranked near Japan
More education data for Japan
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 98.88 (2013)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 99.93 (2023)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 627,777 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 0 (1999)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 1.50 million (1999)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 1.46 million (1999)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 6.61 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 6.25 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -1.01 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is womens educational attainment vs fertility in Japan?
- Womens educational attainment vs fertility in Japan was 1.21 in 2023, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest womens educational attainment vs fertility recorded in Japan?
- The highest recorded value was 3.62 in 1950.
- What is the lowest womens educational attainment vs fertility recorded in Japan?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.21 in 2023.
- How does Japan rank for womens educational attainment vs fertility?
- Japan ranks 216th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is womens educational attainment vs fertility rising or falling in Japan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 13.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Japan data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Womens educational attainment vs fertility. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).