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Sub-region of Asia · Country Index 2026

Eastern Asia

How are the countries of Eastern Asia doing?

Half of Eastern Asia’s 4 placed countries sit at or above 23rd of 178 in the Country Index 2026, which places the region 5th of 21 sub-regions. South Korea is placed highest, 14th; Mongolia lowest, 73rd. 2 reach the world’s top fifth. 4 more of its 8 countries and territories are not placed.

Eastern AsiaUN M49 030

Eastern Asia, shown in red on a map of the world

23rd

median position of 178 · 5th of 21 sub-regions

Asia →median 91st

01Who is in it

The countries of Eastern Asia

Alphabetical, with each country’s own banner photograph. The position is its place in the whole world ranking, never within the region.

02The region

About Eastern Asia

China, Japan, the Koreas, Mongolia and Taiwan.

Eastern Asia faces the Pacific, from the Mongolian steppe and the Tibetan Plateau to the islands of Japan. It holds the great river plains of the Yellow River and the Yangtze, the Korean peninsula, and some of the most densely populated coasts in the world.

Chinese civilisation developed along its rivers over thousands of years, and its writing, philosophy and inventions spread across the region, where Japan and Korea developed distinct cultures of their own. In the twentieth century the region went through war, revolution and rapid industrialisation, and several of its economies grew into some of the largest in the world.

03Where

Eastern Asia on the map

Each member shaded by its position in the Country Index 2026, darkest for the best placed; the countries across its land borders in grey. Hover a country for its position, or select it to open its profile.

Country Index position: 1st178thMember, not placedAcross the border, another regionNot a country this site tracks

04Country Index 2026

Where Eastern Asia’s countries place

Best placed first. Every position is a place in the whole world ranking of 178, never a second list within the region; “=” marks a position shared with another country. Hover the ⓘ for where a country would sit if any one key statistic were dropped.

The full Country Index 2026
Eastern Asia’s 4 placed countries by their Country Index 2026 position, best placed first.
In regionCountryIn the world1st178th
1South Korea14 / 178between 12th and 19th if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
2Japan23 / 178between 17th and 25th if any one key were dropped · standings on 15 of 16 topics
3China51 / 178between 46th and 61st if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
4Mongolia73 / 178between 64th and 84th if any one key were dropped · standings on 15 of 16 topics

A further 4 of its countries and territories are not placed: the Country Index 2026 places a country only once it holds a standing on 12 of its 16 voting topics. Hong Kong, Macau, North Korea and Taiwan.

Eastern Asia among the 21 sub-regions with a median

5th of 21. Nothing is weighted by population or size.

  1. Northern Europe6thPlaced countries run from Denmark 2nd to Latvia 25th.
  2. Western Europe10thPlaced countries run from Switzerland 1st to France 19th.
  3. Australia and New Zealand17thPlaced countries run from New Zealand 17th to Australia 24th.
  4. Northern America17thPlaced countries run from Canada 17th to United States 37th.
  5. Eastern Asia23rdPlaced countries run from South Korea 14th to Mongolia 73rd.
  6. Southern Europe32ndPlaced countries run from Slovenia 12th to Bosnia and Herzegovina 63rd.
  7. Eastern Europe39thPlaced countries run from Czechia 11th to Russia 68th.
  8. Polynesia70thPlaced countries run from Samoa 70th to Tonga 85th.
  9. South America74thPlaced countries run from Uruguay 34th to Venezuela 137th.
  10. Caribbean78thPlaced countries run from Barbados 63rd to Haiti 169th.
  11. Central America81stPlaced countries run from Costa Rica 40th to Nicaragua 134th.
  12. Western Asia93rdPlaced countries run from Cyprus 35th to Yemen 176th.
  13. South-eastern Asia95thPlaced countries run from Singapore 26th to Myanmar 153rd.
  14. Central Asia100thPlaced countries run from Kazakhstan 60th to Turkmenistan 148th.
  15. Southern Asia100thPlaced countries run from Bhutan 44th to Afghanistan 172nd.
  16. Melanesia106thPlaced countries run from Fiji 62nd to Papua New Guinea 138th.
  17. Southern Africa116thPlaced countries run from South Africa 102nd to Eswatini 140th.
  18. Northern Africa127thPlaced countries run from Tunisia 107th to Libya 174th.
  19. Eastern Africa143rdPlaced countries run from Mauritius 46th to Somalia 177th.
  20. Western Africa144thPlaced countries run from Cabo Verde 74th to Guinea-Bissau 168th.
  21. Middle Africa161stPlaced countries run from São Tomé and Príncipe 104th to Chad 175th.
  22. Micronesia—
  23. Asia, the whole continent91st
  24. The world’s midpoint88th
1st178thmedian

The square is each region’s median position; the grey bar runs from its best-placed to its lowest-placed country. Hover a row for their names.

05By subject

Topic by topic

Every country’s position on each topic, its shade darker the higher it sits in that topic’s field; select a cell for the country’s page on the topic. Strongest for Eastern Asia: Mobility & Trade, 1st of 21 sub-regions. Weakest: Environment & Sustainability, 21st of 21.

All topics
Eastern Asia: each country’s position on each topic, with the region’s median and its place among sub-regions.
Mobility & TradeWork & LabourDigital & TechnologyEconomy & InnovationGender & EqualityGovernance & InstitutionsDevelopment & Human CapitalHealth & WellbeingPoverty & InequalityFood & AgricultureRisk & ResiliencePeace & SecurityEducation & KnowledgeEnergyDemocracy & Civil LibertiesEnvironment & SustainabilityMoney & Public FinancePeople & Population
South Korea3 of 1473 of 1823 of 19815 of 17622 of 18319 of 19424 of 1965 of 20038 of 15917 of 17555 of 19263 of 1771 of 17189 of 19336 of 198174 of 181No standingNo standing
Japan10 of 1472 of 1829 of 1982 of 176118 of 18310 of 19418 of 1966 of 20057 of 15947 of 17570 of 19212 of 177No standing79 of 19315 of 198161 of 181No standingNo standing
China4 of 14760 of 18243 of 19846 of 176123 of 183125 of 19462 of 19643 of 20044 of 15917 of 175105 of 192102 of 17726 of 171102 of 193176 of 198162 of 181No standingNo standing
MongoliaNo standing148 of 18290 of 19870 of 17628 of 18388 of 19475 of 19674 of 20031 of 159138 of 17534 of 19278 of 17774 of 171171 of 19393 of 198159 of 181No standingNo standing
Hong Kong2 of 14722 of 18269 of 19837 of 17641 of 18336 of 19440 of 196No standingNo standingNo standingNo standing15 of 17760 of 171165 of 193133 of 198No standingNo standingNo standing
MacauNo standing26 of 182155 of 198No standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standing88 of 17195 of 193No standingNo standingNo standingNo standing
North KoreaNo standing81 of 182188 of 198No standingNo standing191 of 194No standing115 of 200No standingNo standing144 of 19294 of 177No standing54 of 193196 of 198104 of 181No standingNo standing
Taiwan7 of 147No standing37 of 198No standing2 of 18330 of 194No standingNo standing21 of 15959 of 175No standing7 of 177No standing161 of 19326 of 198No standingNo standingNo standing
Region median4th of 14726th of 18243rd of 19837th of 17628th of 18336th of 19440th of 19643rd of 20038th of 15947th of 17570th of 19263rd of 17760th of 17195th of 19393rd of 198161st of 181——
Among sub-regions1st of 213rd of 215th of 225th of 215th of 215th of 226th of 226th of 226th of 218th of 218th of 229th of 2010th of 2112th of 2213th of 2221st of 21——

Columns run from the topic where Eastern Asia places best among sub-regions to the one where it places lowest. A region’s median on a topic needs at least two members with a standing; a hatched cell has no standing.

06In numbers

Eastern Asia in 6 numbers

Each line is every country in the world at its published value; Eastern Asia’s countries are the red ticks, and the dashed line is the world median. There is no regional average: a region has countries, not a life expectancy of its own.

All statistics

  • Population

    people · log scale

    UN DESA Population Division · 2023 · 222 countries · no better end

    MacauMongoliaHong KongTaiwanNorth KoreaSouth KoreaJapanChina496world median 6,541,4131,438,069,596

  • Land area

    km²

    FAO · 2024 · 221 countries · no better end

    MacauHong KongTaiwanSouth KoreaMongoliaChina0.4world median 87,58916,376,870

  • GDP per person

    international $, PPP · log scale

    World Bank Group · 2025 · 185 countries · higher is better

    No reading: North Korea, Taiwan

    MongoliaChinaJapanSouth KoreaHong KongMacau1,067world median 17,265139,593

  • Life expectancy

    years at birth

    UN DESA Population Division · 2023 · 222 countries · higher is better

    MongoliaNorth KoreaChinaTaiwanMacauSouth KoreaJapanHong Kong54.46world median 74.6386.37

  • Human development

    HDI, 0–1

    UNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · 193 countries · higher is better

    No reading: Macau, North Korea, Taiwan

    MongoliaChinaJapanSouth KoreaHong Kong0.388world median 0.7620.972

  • Unemployment

    % of the labour force

    ILO · 2025 · 182 countries · lower is better

    No reading: Taiwan

    MacauJapanSouth KoreaHong KongChinaMongolia0.13world median 5.08434.2
Every value for Eastern Asia’s countries
CountryPopulation 2023Land area 2024GDP per person 2025Life expectancy 2023Human development 2023Unemployment 2025
China1,422,584,933rank 29,388,210rank 225,067rank 7177.95rank 690.797rank 784.615rank 107
Hong Kong7,442,734rank 1041,050rank 17668,725rank 1385.51rank 30.955rank 82.799rank 151
Japan124,370,947rank 12364,500rank 6248,283rank 3584.71rank 40.925rank 232.451rank 159
Macau713,912rank 16733.3rank 216117,098rank 483.07rank 19—2.347rank 160
Mongolia3,431,932rank 1331,558,501rank 1817,773rank 9171.73rank 1410.747rank 1045.233rank 88
North Korea26,418,204rank 55120,410rank 98—73.64rank 120—3.545rank 123
South Korea51,748,739rank 2997,600rank 10555,697rank 2684.33rank 50.937rank 202.683rank 154
Taiwan23,317,145rank 5935,410rank 133—80.56rank 47——

07In records

Eastern Asia in records

The member at the extreme of each statistic, read from its newest edition. Where two members share the top, no record is named.

08Latest editions

Who rose and fell in the published ranks

The moves of Eastern Asia’s countries between each report’s two newest editions, in the publisher’s own ranks. A report whose field changed by more than 5% is left out.

Ranks as published by UNDP Human Development Report Office in the Human Development Index: reference years 2022 (192 countries ranked) → 2023 (193 ranked), both from its 2025 report.

Improved most

rank before → after
  1. Hong Kong9 → 8+1
  2. Mongolia105 → 104+1

Declined most

rank before → after
  1. China74 → 78−4
  2. South Korea19 → 20−1
Every country in the Human Development Index

09In context

Across the border

The countries outside Eastern Asia that share a land border with one of its members, with their world positions, and the sub-regions they belong to. Land borders only, as drawn on the map.

Eastern Europe

South-eastern Asia

The neighbouring sub-regions

10Places

Landmarks of Eastern Asia

Two places from each member with a gallery on its profile.

11Analysis

Charts and analysis about Eastern Asia’s countries

All charts

12Keep reading

Explore further

All regions

The rest of Asia

13Method

Questions, method and sources

Which countries are in Eastern Asia?

8 countries and territories: China, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea and Taiwan. Membership follows the United Nations’ M49 classification. Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan are listed separately because the publishers of the statistics report them separately. Listing them takes no position on their status.

Which country in Eastern Asia is placed highest?

South Korea, placed 14th of 178 in the Country Index 2026. Mongolia is placed lowest, 73rd. 4 of the region’s 8 countries and territories are placed; the rest hold standings on too few topics.

How does Eastern Asia compare with other regions?

Half of its 4 placed countries sit at or above 23rd of 178, which places it 5th of 21 sub-regions. The median across Asia is 91st. The middle of the whole field is 88th. Nothing is weighted by population or size.

How many people live in Eastern Asia?

1,660,028,546 in 2023, the sum of the UN DESA Population Division’s figures for its 8 countries and territories.

What is the largest country in Eastern Asia?

By land area, China: 9,388,210 square kilometres (2024). By population, China: 1,422,584,933 people (2023).

How a region’s figure is made
  1. Membership. Countries belong to regions by the United Nations’ M49 classification; each country declares its sub-region, and a continent is the sum of its sub-regions.
  2. Positions. Each country’s position is its Country Index 2026 result, unchanged. This page slices the world ranking by place; it does not re-rank anyone.
  3. The median. A region’s figure is the median of its placed countries’ positions: half sit at or above it, half below. With an even number of placed countries it takes the better of the two middle positions, since there is no country at a half place. Countries the index does not place are named, never counted in.
  4. A place among peers. Continents are compared with continents and sub-regions with sub-regions, never a part with the whole that contains it; regions sharing a median share a place. Nothing is weighted by population or size, and population and land area are the only figures ever added up.

Where the regions come from

United Nations Statistics Division, Standard country or area codes for statistical use (M49). M49’s middle level (Sub-Saharan Africa; Latin America and the Caribbean) is left out, so every sub-region sits directly under its continent. Kosovo, Northern Cyprus and Somaliland are not in M49 and are placed by geography.

Where the positions come from

Every position is a country’s result in the Country Index 2026 or one of its topics, unchanged. The population and land-area figures are the UN DESA Population Division’s and the FAO’s, added up and shown with their year; every other statistic names its publisher beside its numbers.

Photographs

Each country’s own banner from its profile: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.

Cite this page

Nations Inquiry (2026). Eastern Asia: countries, population and rankings, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/regions/eastern-asia

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