Germany vs Japan: Productivity and unit labour costs — GDP per person employed
Productivity and unit labour costs — GDP per person employed over time
- Germany
- Japan
How they compare
Germany currently reports 102.26 Index against 100.83 Index in Japan, a difference of 1.43 Index.
The two have swapped places 11 times across 36 shared years of data; in 1991 it was Japan ahead.
Germany ranks 14th and Japan ranks 17th of 23 countries.
Across the 4 decades both report, Germany averaged higher in 3 and Japan in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Germany | Japan | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 88.15 Index | 89.05 Index | 0.9028 Index | Japan |
| 2000s | 96.03 Index | 96 Index | 0.0336 Index | Germany |
| 2010s | 100.8 Index | 100.37 Index | 0.4375 Index | Germany |
| 2020s | 102.53 Index | 100.2 Index | 2.34 Index | Germany |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher productivity and unit labour costs — gdp per person employed, Germany or Japan?
- Germany, at 102.26 Index against 100.83 Index in Japan as of 2026.
- What is the difference in productivity and unit labour costs — gdp per person employed between Germany and Japan?
- 1.43 Index, with Germany ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Germany and Japan?
- 36 years are reported by both, from 1991 to 2026.
- How do Germany and Japan rank globally for productivity and unit labour costs — gdp per person employed?
- Germany ranks 14th and Japan ranks 17th of 23 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as Productivity and unit labour costs — GDP per person employed. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
The OECD Productivity Database aims at providing users with the most comprehensive and the latest productivity estimates. The update cycle is on a rolling basis: each variable in the dataset is made publicly available as soon as it is updated in the sources databases. The productivity database contains data on labour productivity both measured using employment or hours worked and the compenents of capital and labour inputs. The productivity database in levels, in growth rates and by industry contains annual data, while the database on productivity and unit labour costs are quarterly estimates. Further information for all datasets and the methodology may be found in the attached file OECD-Productivity-Statistics-Database-metadata