with little success and were
further hampered in 2000-2003 by the slowing of the US, European,
and Asian economies. Japan's huge government debt, which totals more
than 150% of GDP, and the ageing of the population are two major
long-run problems. Robotics constitutes a key long-term economic
strength with Japan possessing 410,000 of the world's 720,000
"working robots." Internal conflict over the proper way to reform
the ailing banking system continues.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $3.582 trillion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
2.7% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $28,200 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 1.3%
industry: 25.4%
services: 73.3% (2003 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
23.9% of GDP (2003)

Population below poverty line:
NA

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 4.8%
highest 10%: 21.7% (1993)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
24.9 (1993)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
-0.3% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
66.66 million (2003)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 5%, industry 25%, services 70% (2002 est.)

Unemployment rate:
5.3% (2003)

Budget:
revenues: $1.327 trillion
expenditures: $1.646 trillion, including capital expenditures
(public works only) of about $71 billion (2003 est.)

Public debt:
154.6% of GDP (2003)

Agriculture - products:
rice, sugar beets, vegetables, fruit, pork, poultry, dairy
products, eggs, fish

Industries:
among world's largest and technologically advanced producers of
motor vehicles, electronic equipment, machine tools, steel and
nonferrous metals, ships, chemicals, textiles, processed foods

Industrial production growth rate:
3.3% (2003 est.)

Electricity - production:
1.037 trillion kWh (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
964.2 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)

Oil - production:
17,330 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
5.29 million bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
93,360 bbl/day (2001)

Oil - imports:
5.449 million bbl/day (2001)

Oil - proved reserves:
29.29 million bbl (1 January 2002)

Natural gas - production:
2.519 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
80.42 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - import