Which has higher number of daily smokers, men and women, Japan or United States of America?

United States of America, at 20.67 million against 17.95 million in Japan as of 2012.

What is the difference in number of daily smokers, men and women between Japan and United States of America?

2.72 million, with United States of America ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for Japan and United States of America?

33 years are reported by both, from 1980 to 2012.

Where does this data come from?

IHME (2012) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Number of daily smokers, men and women. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Japan vs United States of America: Number of daily smokers, men and women

Japan

17.95 million

in 2012

United States of America

20.67 million

in 2012

Japan rank

7th

United States of America rank

6th

Number of daily smokers, men and women over time

Japan
United States of America

How they compare

United States of America currently reports 20.67 million against 17.95 million in Japan, a difference of 2.72 million.

That makes United States of America's figure about 1.2 times Japan's.

The two have swapped places 2 times across 33 shared years of data; in 1980 it was United States of America ahead.

Japan ranks 7th and United States of America ranks 6th of 186 countries.

Across the 4 decades both report, Japan averaged higher in 2 and United States of America in 2.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Japan	United States of America	Difference	Ahead
1980s	26.73 million	26.65 million	72,500	Japan
1990s	26.18 million	23.77 million	2.41 million	Japan
2000s	22.09 million	22.42 million	335,630	United States of America
2010s	18.19 million	20.90 million	2.71 million	United States of America

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher number of daily smokers, men and women, Japan or United States of America?: United States of America, at 20.67 million against 17.95 million in Japan as of 2012.
What is the difference in number of daily smokers, men and women between Japan and United States of America?: 2.72 million, with United States of America ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Japan and United States of America?: 33 years are reported by both, from 1980 to 2012.
How do Japan and United States of America rank globally for number of daily smokers, men and women?: Japan ranks 7th and United States of America ranks 6th of 186 countries.
Where does this data come from?: IHME (2012) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Number of daily smokers, men and women. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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Japan vs United States of America: Number of daily smokers, men and women. Statizoid, drawing on IHME (2012) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 13 September 2026, from https://gender.statizoid.com/compare/number-of-daily-smokers-gender/japan/united-states/

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About this data

Indicator: Number of daily smokers, men and women
Source: IHME (2012) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 186 places, 6,138 data points, 1980–2012
Last refreshed: 28 August 2026

Estimates of the number of men and women who smoke cigarettes at least daily (all ages).