Head of state: Emperor Akihito Prime minister: Yoshihiko Noda
President: Jakaya Kikwete
Population
127,368,088
46,912,768
Life Expectancy
83.910 years
53.140 years
Capital City
Tokyo
Largest city
Tokyo (population: 8,336,600)
Dar es Salaam (population: 2,698,650)
Human Development Index
0.956
0.503
GDP per capita
$35,200 US
Literacy Rate
99%
69.4%
Corruption Perception Index
7.3
3
Percentage of Women in Parliament
12.3%
30.4%
Wealthiest Citizens
Tadashi Yanai & family ($6.0bn US)
NA
Unemployment Rate
4.600%
Death Penalty
Legal
Abolished in practice
Political System
constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary government
republic
Independence date
660 B.C. (traditional date of the founding of the nation by Emperor JIMMU)
Religions
observe both Shinto and Buddhist 84%, other 16% (including Christian 0.7%)
mainland - Christian 30%, Muslim 35%, indigenous beliefs 35%; Zanzibar - more than 99% Muslim
Languages
Japanese
Kiswahili or Swahili (official), Kiunguja (name for Swahili in Zanzibar), English (official, primary language of commerce, administration, and higher education), Arabic (widely spoken in Zanzibar), many local languages note: Kiswahili (Swahili) is the mother tongue of the Bantu people living in Zanzibar and nearby coastal Tanzania; although Kiswahili is Bantu in structure and origin, its vocabulary draws on a variety of sources including Arabic and English; it has become the lingua franca of central and eastern Africa; the first language of most people is one of the local languages
Exports
transport equipment, motor vehicles, semiconductors, electrical machinery, chemicals
External Debt
$2,719,000,000,000 $
Exchange Rate
yen (JPY) per US dollar - 103.58 (2008 est.), 117.99 (2007), 116.18 (2006), 110.22 (2005), 108.19 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
0.800%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
25
0
Location
Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula
Eastern Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean, between Kenya and Mozambique
Area
377,915 km sq
947,300 km sq
Coastline
29,751 km
1,424 km
Climate
varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north
varies from tropical along coast to temperate in highlands
