Japan
East Asia & Pacific · High income· 124.52M inhabitants
Last updated: May 27, 2025
Futures readiness profile
Key insights: Japan
Key areas of strength for Japan: School Access and Gender Parity (97, 97th percentile), Governance (82, 92nd percentile), Infrastructure (78, 92nd percentile), and Innovation (78, 97th percentile). This reflects substantial capacity for education futures readiness and may serve as models for broader policy learning or international benchmarking.
Areas of untapped potential: Human Capital (57, 68th percentile). While these scores are at or near the global average, substantial progress and greater ambition are needed to drive transformation and strengthen the country’s future in education.
Composite GEFRI Score
78.25
95th percentile
Higher scores indicate greater education futures readiness
Component scores
School Access and Gender Parity96.67
Above global avg. · 97th %-tile
Governance81.73
Above global avg. · 92nd %-tile
Captures the effectiveness and quality of policies, regulations, and governance that shape the educational environment.
Infrastructure77.82
Above global avg. · 92nd %-tile
Measures the availability and quality of basic digital and electrical infrastructure that supports education.
Human Capital57.46
Above global avg. · 68th %-tile
Assesses the educational attainment and capacity of a country’s population, focusing on access and completion at secondary and tertiary levels as well as literacy.
Innovation77.56
Above global avg. · 97th %-tile
Reflects a country’s capacity to foster, produce, and apply new knowledge and technology in society and education.
Regional peers: East Asia & Pacific
| Global rank | Regional rank | Country | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 1 | Korea, Rep. | 80.49 |
| 4 | 2 | Singapore | 79.66 |
| 6 | 3 | Hong Kong SAR, China | 79.05 |
| 8 | 4 | Australia | 78.42 |
| 10 | 5 | Japan | 78.25 |
| 17 | 6 | New Zealand | 75.41 |
| — | — | Northern Mariana Islands(microstate) | 71.23 |
| — | — | New Caledonia(microstate) | 70.42 |
| — | — | Guam(microstate) | 69.37 |
| — | — | American Samoa(microstate) | 68.93 |
| — | — | French Polynesia(microstate) | 68.41 |
| 45 | 7 | China | 64.25 |
| 48 | 8 | Thailand | 62.96 |
| 49 | 9 | Malaysia | 62.68 |
| 57 | 10 | Brunei Darussalam | 60.96 |
| 61 | 11 | Indonesia | 59.35 |
| 63 | 12 | Mongolia | 59.27 |
| 67 | 13 | Macao SAR, China | 57.83 |
| — | — | Palau(microstate) | 57.60 |
| — | — | Tuvalu(microstate) | 57.31 |
| 70 | 14 | Viet Nam | 56.58 |
| 72 | 15 | Fiji | 56.51 |
| 74 | 16 | Philippines | 56.32 |
| — | — | Nauru(microstate) | 54.97 |
| — | — | Kiribati(microstate) | 52.36 |
| — | — | Samoa(microstate) | 51.55 |
| — | — | Tonga(microstate) | 50.38 |
| 106 | 17 | Timor-Leste | 47.76 |
| — | — | Micronesia, Fed. Sts.(microstate) | 46.58 |
| 110 | 18 | Korea, Dem. People's Rep. | 44.79 |
| — | — | Marshall Islands(microstate) | 44.62 |
| 122 | 19 | Vanuatu | 40.07 |
| 126 | 20 | Cambodia | 36.21 |
| 131 | 21 | Myanmar | 33.54 |
| 132 | 22 | Solomon Islands | 33.52 |
| 136 | 23 | Lao PDR | 31.98 |
| 150 | 24 | Papua New Guinea | 26.63 |