Number of daily smokers, men and women in Japan

Japan: Number of daily smokers, men and women was 17.95 million in 2012. ▼ Falling

Latest (2012)
17.95 million
Change on year
down 1.1%
World rank
7th
of 186 countries
All-time high
26.94 million
in 1983
All-time low
17.95 million
in 2012
Years of data
33
1980–2012

Number of daily smokers, men and women in Japan, 1980–2012

010.0M20.0M30.0M1980199620121980: 26.7M1981: 26.8M1982: 26.9M1983: 26.9M1984: 26.9M1985: 26.8M1986: 26.7M1987: 26.6M1988: 26.5M1989: 26.4M1990: 26.4M1991: 26.3M1992: 26.3M1993: 26.4M1994: 26.4M1995: 26.4M1996: 26.3M1997: 26.1M1998: 25.8M1999: 25.5M2000: 25.0M2001: 24.6M2002: 24.0M2003: 23.3M2004: 22.6M2005: 21.7M2006: 20.9M2007: 20.2M2008: 19.5M2009: 18.9M2010: 18.5M2011: 18.2M2012: 17.9M

Source: IHME (2012) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

In 2012, number of daily smokers, men and women in Japan stood at 17.95 million. That is the lowest value across all 33 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.1% on the previous year and down 25.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, number of daily smokers, men and women in Japan peaked at 26.94 million in 1983 and was at its lowest, 17.95 million, in 2012.

Japan ranks 7th of 186 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 33 years of available data.

Number of daily smokers, men and women in Japan, year by year

Annual values for Number of daily smokers, men and women in Japan, 1980 to 2012.
Year Value Change
1980 26.66 million
1981 26.84 million +0.7%
1982 26.93 million +0.3%
1983 26.94 million +0.0%
1984 26.89 million -0.2%
1985 26.80 million -0.4%
1986 26.68 million -0.4%
1987 26.59 million -0.4%
1988 26.50 million -0.3%
1989 26.44 million -0.2%
1990 26.37 million -0.2%
1991 26.35 million -0.1%
1992 26.34 million -0.0%
1993 26.35 million +0.0%
1994 26.38 million +0.1%
1995 26.38 million -0.0%
1996 26.27 million -0.4%
1997 26.06 million -0.8%
1998 25.81 million -0.9%
1999 25.49 million -1.2%
2000 25.04 million -1.8%
2001 24.56 million -1.9%
2002 24.00 million -2.2%
2003 23.34 million -2.8%
2004 22.57 million -3.3%
2005 21.74 million -3.7%
2006 20.94 million -3.7%
2007 20.22 million -3.4%
2008 19.52 million -3.5%
2009 18.94 million -3.0%
2010 18.47 million -2.5%
2011 18.15 million -1.7%
2012 17.95 million -1.1%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 26.73 million 26.44 million 26.94 million 10
1990s 26.18 million 25.49 million 26.38 million 10
2000s 22.09 million 18.94 million 25.04 million 10
2010s 18.19 million 17.95 million 18.47 million 3

Countries ranked near Japan

  1. 4 Russian Federation 28.70 million compare
  2. 5 Bangladesh 23.26 million compare
  3. 6 United States 20.67 million compare
  4. 8 Pakistan 15.43 million compare
  5. 9 Viet Nam 13.93 million compare
  6. 10 Philippines 12.21 million compare

See the full ranking of 186 places →

More gender data for Japan

All data for Japan →

Frequently asked questions

What is number of daily smokers, men and women in Japan?
Number of daily smokers, men and women in Japan was 17.95 million in 2012, according to IHME (2012) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest number of daily smokers, men and women recorded in Japan?
The highest recorded value was 26.94 million in 1983.
What is the lowest number of daily smokers, men and women recorded in Japan?
The lowest recorded value was 17.95 million in 2012.
How does Japan rank for number of daily smokers, men and women?
Japan ranks 7th out of 186 countries with data for 2012.
Is number of daily smokers, men and women rising or falling in Japan?
Over the last ten years it is down 25.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Japan data come from?
The figures come from IHME (2012) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Number of daily smokers, men and women. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Number of daily smokers, men and women in Japan. Statizoid, drawing on IHME (2012) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 30 August 2026, from https://gender.statizoid.com/stat/number-of-daily-smokers-gender/japan/

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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

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