France vs Japan: Researchers per million inhabitants
France
5,369 FTE
in 2023
Japan
5,609 FTE
in 2023
France rank
20th
Japan rank
18th
Researchers per million inhabitants over time
- France
- Japan
How they compare
Japan currently reports 5,609 FTE against 5,369 FTE in France, a difference of 240 FTE.
Across all 28 years both countries report, Japan has been ahead every year.
France ranks 20th and Japan ranks 18th of 103 countries.
Japan has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | France | Japan | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 2,670 FTE | 5,058 FTE | 2,387 FTE | Japan |
| 2000s | 3,311 FTE | 5,162 FTE | 1,851 FTE | Japan |
| 2010s | 4,286 FTE | 5,227 FTE | 941.41 FTE | Japan |
| 2020s | 5,123 FTE | 5,570 FTE | 446.72 FTE | Japan |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher researchers per million inhabitants, France or Japan?
- Japan, at 5,609 FTE against 5,369 FTE in France as of 2023.
- What is the difference in researchers per million inhabitants between France and Japan?
- 240 FTE, with Japan ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for France and Japan?
- 28 years are reported by both, from 1996 to 2023.
- How do France and Japan rank globally for researchers per million inhabitants?
- France ranks 20th and Japan ranks 18th of 103 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as Researchers per million inhabitants (FTE). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
February 2026 Data Release