Municipal waste recycling rate in Japan
Japan: Municipal waste recycling rate was 20.54 Percentage in 2014. ▲ Rising
Municipal waste recycling rate in Japan, 1990–2014
Source: OECD (2018) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in Percentage.
Analysis
The most recent figure for municipal waste recycling rate in Japan is 20.54 Percentage, measured in 2014. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.6% on the previous year and up 16.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, municipal waste recycling rate in Japan peaked at 20.54 Percentage in 2014 and was at its lowest, 5.31 Percentage, in 1990.
That places Japan 24th out of 31 countries with data for 2014, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Municipal waste recycling rate in Japan, year by year
| Year | Percentage | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 5.31 Percentage | — |
| 1991 | 6.06 Percentage | +14.2% |
| 1992 | 7.32 Percentage | +20.8% |
| 1993 | 8.03 Percentage | +9.7% |
| 1994 | 9.07 Percentage | +13.0% |
| 1995 | 9.77 Percentage | +7.6% |
| 1996 | 10.33 Percentage | +5.7% |
| 1997 | 11.04 Percentage | +6.9% |
| 1998 | 12.1 Percentage | +9.7% |
| 1999 | 13.07 Percentage | +8.0% |
| 2000 | 14.33 Percentage | +9.6% |
| 2001 | 15.05 Percentage | +5.0% |
| 2002 | 15.92 Percentage | +5.8% |
| 2003 | 16.84 Percentage | +5.8% |
| 2004 | 17.59 Percentage | +4.4% |
| 2005 | 19.01 Percentage | +8.0% |
| 2006 | 19.6 Percentage | +3.1% |
| 2007 | 20.29 Percentage | +3.6% |
| 2008 | 19.32 Percentage | -4.8% |
| 2009 | 18.85 Percentage | -2.4% |
| 2010 | 19.07 Percentage | +1.2% |
| 2011 | 20.34 Percentage | +6.6% |
| 2012 | 20.26 Percentage | -0.4% |
| 2013 | 20.42 Percentage | +0.8% |
| 2014 | 20.54 Percentage | +0.6% |
Japan compared with similar countries
- Japan's 20.54 Percentage is below the median for high income countries, which is 26.13 Percentage, 79% of the median. (29 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 9.21 Percentage | 5.31 Percentage | 13.07 Percentage | 10 |
| 2000s | 17.68 Percentage | 14.33 Percentage | 20.29 Percentage | 10 |
| 2010s | 20.13 Percentage | 19.07 Percentage | 20.54 Percentage | 5 |
Countries ranked near Japan
More environment data for Japan
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -4.51 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -4.8 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.358 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.86 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate -3.12 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -2.8 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate -0.4957 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is municipal waste recycling rate in Japan?
- Municipal waste recycling rate in Japan was 20.54 Percentage in 2014, according to OECD (2018) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest municipal waste recycling rate recorded in Japan?
- The highest recorded value was 20.54 Percentage in 2014.
- What is the lowest municipal waste recycling rate recorded in Japan?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.31 Percentage in 1990.
- How does Japan rank for municipal waste recycling rate?
- Japan ranks 24th out of 31 countries with data for 2014.
- Is municipal waste recycling rate rising or falling in Japan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 16.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Japan data come from?
- The figures come from OECD (2018) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Municipal waste recycling rate. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Municipal (including household) waste recycling rates, measured as the percentage of total waste generated that is recycled.