Share of plastic waste exports in Japan
Japan: Share of plastic waste exports was 21.3% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of plastic waste exports in Japan, 1988–2024
Source: United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of plastic waste exports in Japan is 21.3%, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of up 59.1% on the previous year and up 77.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of plastic waste exports in Japan peaked at 26.9% in 1988 and was at its lowest, 4.1%, in 1994.
That places Japan 1st out of 162 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.
Share of plastic waste exports in Japan, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 26.9% | — |
| 1989 | 16.2% | -39.7% |
| 1994 | 4.1% | -74.8% |
| 1995 | 4.5% | +11.1% |
| 1996 | 6.4% | +41.2% |
| 2001 | 8.7% | +35.9% |
| 2005 | 11.3% | +29.5% |
| 2007 | 12.7% | +12.7% |
| 2010 | 10.8% | -15.0% |
| 2011 | 11.2% | +3.6% |
| 2012 | 11.2% | +0.8% |
| 2013 | 13.5% | +19.9% |
| 2014 | 12.0% | -11.2% |
| 2015 | 11.7% | -2.4% |
| 2016 | 13.5% | +15.4% |
| 2017 | 14.3% | +6.2% |
| 2018 | 14.4% | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 15.4% | +7.2% |
| 2020 | 17.6% | +13.8% |
| 2021 | 12.5% | -28.9% |
| 2022 | 13.4% | +7.2% |
| 2023 | 13.4% | -0.1% |
| 2024 | 21.3% | +59.1% |
Japan compared with similar countries
- Japan's 21.3% is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.1%, 149.7× the median. (63 countries reporting)
- Japan's 21.3% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.0%, 1565.0× the median. (24 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of plastic waste exports 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | -74.8% | 16.2% | 4.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 21.5% | 16.2% | 26.9% | 2 |
| 1990s | 5.0% | 4.1% | 6.4% | 3 |
| 2000s | 10.9% | 8.7% | 12.7% | 3 |
| 2010s | 12.8% | 10.8% | 15.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 15.6% | 12.5% | 21.3% | 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)
- 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)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of plastic waste exports in Japan?
- Share of plastic waste exports in Japan was 21.3% in 2024, according to United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of plastic waste exports recorded in Japan?
- The highest recorded value was 26.9% in 1988.
- What is the lowest share of plastic waste exports recorded in Japan?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.1% in 1994.
- How does Japan rank for share of plastic waste exports?
- Japan ranks 1st out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of plastic waste exports rising or falling in Japan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 77.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Japan data come from?
- The figures come from United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of plastic waste exports. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 23 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Percentage of global plastic waste exports that a country accounts for.