Map of Japanese regions and prefectures by HDI in 2017. Legend: > 0.930 0.900 – 0.930 0.890 – 0.900 < 0.890

This article presents a list of Japanese regions by Human Development Index as of 2021. This article also includes a list of Japanese prefectures by historical HDI in 1990, 1995 and 2000 further below.

Japanese regions by HDI (2023)

This is a list regions of Japan by Human Development Index calculated using the new methodology.

RankRegionHDI (2023)
Very high human development
1Southern Kantō, Koshin (Saitama, Chiba, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Yamanashi, Nagano)0.951
2Kansai (Shiga, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo, Nara, Wakayama)0.927
3Tōkai (Gifu, Shizuoka, Aichi, Mie)0.925
Japan0.925
4Chūgoku (Tottori, Shimane, Okayama, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi)0.921
5Northern Kantō (Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma)0.913
6Hokuriku (Niigata, Toyama, Ishikawa, Fukui)0.907
7Kyushu (Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Ōita, Miyazaki, Kagoshima, Okinawa)0.904
8Shikoku (Tokushima, Kagawa, Ehime, Kōchi)0.903
9Hokkaido0.898
10Tōhoku (Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Akita, Yamagata, Fukushima)0.893

Japanese prefectures by past HDI using old methodology

This is a list of Japanese prefectures by Human Development Index calculated using the old methodology. This data was taken from the 2007 paper "Gross National Happiness and Material Welfare in Bhutan and Japan" (Tashi Choden, Takayoshi Kusago, Kokoro Shirai, Centre for Bhutan Studies, Osaka University). The 2022 HDI is roughly calculated by the editor, with errors approximately within ±0.015.

Map of the prefectures of Japan by HDI as of 2000.
RankPrefectureHDI (1990)HDI (1995)HDI (2000)HDI (2022)
1Tokyo0.92960.94480.96670.977
2Aichi0.91150.92650.94600.929
3Shiga0.90800.92290.94260.926
4Shizuoka0.90560.92040.94020.916
5Fukui0.90270.92040.94010.911
6Toyama0.90310.92050.93920.912
7Osaka0.90030.91770.93900.925
8Nagano0.89800.91480.93650.925
9Ishikawa0.89910.91630.93640.909
10Hiroshima0.90320.91700.93610.925
11Kyoto0.89520.91230.93330.929
12Mie0.89340.91230.93290.911
13Kanagawa0.89960.91190.932400.933
14Yamanashi0.89440.90940.93190.931
15Okayama0.89920.91520.93160.916
16Kagawa0.89450.91220.93040.907
17Gunma0.89570.91170.93030.904
18Tochigi0.89550.91070.92940.906
19Niigata0.89210.90950.92900.898
20Hyōgo0.89500.90860.92900.918
21Ōita0.88910.90760.92850.906
22Gifu0.89210.90700.92630.907
23Hokkaidō0.88630.90680.92600.893
24Ibaraki0.89280.90800.92590.911
25Yamaguchi0.89240.90840.92580.912
26Miyagi0.89260.90710.92470.903
27Fukushima0.88800.90440.92410.895
28Tottori0.88870.90450.92390.900
29Shimane0.88580.90210.92310.902
30Fukuoka0.88960.90610.92280.907
31Kumamoto0.88720.90450.92250.900
32Ehime0.88620.90470.92210.896
33Chiba0.88680.90190.92190.915
34Yamagata0.88550.90140.92160.891
35Saga0.88100.90210.91890.896
36Iwate0.87920.89980.91860.888
37Tokushima0.88310.90050.91820.906
38Nara0.87940.89440.91690.904
39Saitama0.88110.89560.91660.915
40Kōchi0.87810.89640.91560.889
41Wakayama0.87700.89570.91550.898
42Miyazaki0.87800.89590.91480.888
43Akita0.87770.89510.91420.888
44Nagasaki0.87490.89490.91270.890
45Kagoshima0.87620.89380.91270.892
46Okinawa0.88100.89400.91110.888
47Aomori0.86980.88770.90650.876