Total waste generation in Japan

Japan: Total waste generation was 81.27 million tonnes in 2019. ▼ Falling

Latest (2019)
81.27 million tonnes
Change on year
up 0.4%
World rank
1st
of 59 countries
All-time high
90.83 million tonnes
in 2000
All-time low
78.32 million tonnes
in 2017
Years of data
20
2000–2019

Total waste generation in Japan, 2000–2019

020.0M40.0M60.0M80.0M100.0M2000200920192000: 90.8M tonnes2001: 90.5M tonnes2002: 90.2M tonnes2003: 90.6M tonnes2004: 89.3M tonnes2005: 87.6M tonnes2006: 87.9M tonnes2007: 87.8M tonnes2008: 88.0M tonnes2009: 88.4M tonnes2010: 85.1M tonnes2011: 84.7M tonnes2012: 85.7M tonnes2013: 83.0M tonnes2014: 81.9M tonnes2015: 81.0M tonnes2016: 80.9M tonnes2017: 78.3M tonnes2018: 81.0M tonnes2019: 81.3M tonnes

Source: United Nations Statistics Division and United Nations Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.

Analysis

Japan recorded 81.27 million tonnes for total waste generation in 2019.

The figure is up 0.4% on the previous year and down 8.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, total waste generation in Japan peaked at 90.83 million tonnes in 2000 and was at its lowest, 78.32 million tonnes, in 2017.

Japan ranks 1st of 59 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 20 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 89.12 million tonnes 87.58 million tonnes 90.83 million tonnes 10
2010s 82.29 million tonnes 78.32 million tonnes 85.72 million tonnes 10

Countries ranked near Japan

  1. 2 Guatemala 75.60 million tonnes compare
  2. 3 Russia 50.62 million tonnes compare
  3. 4 Egypt 22.72 million tonnes compare

See the full ranking of 59 places →

More environment data for Japan

All data for Japan →

Frequently asked questions

What is total waste generation in Japan?
Total waste generation in Japan was 81.27 million tonnes in 2019, according to United Nations Statistics Division and United Nations Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest total waste generation recorded in Japan?
The highest recorded value was 90.83 million tonnes in 2000.
What is the lowest total waste generation recorded in Japan?
The lowest recorded value was 78.32 million tonnes in 2017.
How does Japan rank for total waste generation?
Japan ranks 1st out of 59 countries with data for 2019.
Is total waste generation rising or falling in Japan?
Over the last ten years it is down 8.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Japan data come from?
The figures come from United Nations Statistics Division and United Nations Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Total waste generation. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 20 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Total waste generation
Unit
tonnes
Source
United Nations Statistics Division and United Nations Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
59 places, 686 data points, 2000–2022
Last refreshed

Total waste generation, by activity (Tonnes)