Oil reserves in Japan
Japan: Oil reserves was 7.01 million cubic meters in 2021. ▼ Falling
Oil reserves in Japan, 1980–2021
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (2022) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in cubic meters.
Analysis
The most recent figure for oil reserves in Japan is 7.01 million cubic meters, measured in 2021. That is the lowest value across all 42 years on record.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, oil reserves in Japan peaked at 11.13 million cubic meters in 1982 and was at its lowest, 7.01 million cubic meters, in 2008.
That places Japan 77th out of 216 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 42 years of available data.
Oil reserves in Japan, year by year
| Year | cubic meters | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 8.74 million cubic meters | — |
| 1981 | 8.27 million cubic meters | -5.5% |
| 1982 | 11.13 million cubic meters | +34.6% |
| 1983 | 9.54 million cubic meters | -14.3% |
| 1984 | 9.22 million cubic meters | -3.3% |
| 1985 | 8.90 million cubic meters | -3.4% |
| 1986 | 9.86 million cubic meters | +10.7% |
| 1987 | 9.06 million cubic meters | -8.1% |
| 1988 | 9.03 million cubic meters | -0.4% |
| 1989 | 8.66 million cubic meters | -4.0% |
| 1990 | 9.67 million cubic meters | +11.6% |
| 1991 | 10.02 million cubic meters | +3.6% |
| 1992 | 9.50 million cubic meters | -5.2% |
| 1993 | 9.52 million cubic meters | +0.2% |
| 1994 | 8.62 million cubic meters | -9.4% |
| 1995 | 7.84 million cubic meters | -9.1% |
| 1996 | 7.77 million cubic meters | -0.9% |
| 1997 | 8.01 million cubic meters | +3.1% |
| 1998 | 9.57 million cubic meters | +19.4% |
| 1999 | 9.57 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 9.31 million cubic meters | -2.7% |
| 2001 | 9.31 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 9.31 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 9.30 million cubic meters | -0.1% |
| 2004 | 9.30 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 9.30 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 9.30 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 9.30 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 7.01 million cubic meters | -24.6% |
| 2009 | 7.01 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 7.01 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 7.01 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 7.01 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 7.01 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 7.01 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 7.01 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 7.01 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 7.01 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 7.01 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 7.01 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 7.01 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 7.01 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Oil reserves in Japan changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | +34.6% | 8.27 million cubic meters | 11.13 million cubic meters |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 9.24 million cubic meters | 8.27 million cubic meters | 11.13 million cubic meters | 10 |
| 1990s | 9.01 million cubic meters | 7.77 million cubic meters | 10.02 million cubic meters | 10 |
| 2000s | 8.85 million cubic meters | 7.01 million cubic meters | 9.31 million cubic meters | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.01 million cubic meters | 7.01 million cubic meters | 7.01 million cubic meters | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.01 million cubic meters | 7.01 million cubic meters | 7.01 million cubic meters | 2 |
Countries ranked near Japan
More energy & mining data for Japan
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary energy use, annual growth rate -0.7535 % change on previous year (2025)
- Coal consumption, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Coal consumption, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary energy use, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary energy use, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Coal production, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Coal production, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Fuel imports 19.6% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is oil reserves in Japan?
- Oil reserves in Japan was 7.01 million cubic meters in 2021, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration (2022) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest oil reserves recorded in Japan?
- The highest recorded value was 11.13 million cubic meters in 1982.
- What is the lowest oil reserves recorded in Japan?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.01 million cubic meters in 2008.
- How does Japan rank for oil reserves?
- Japan ranks 77th out of 216 countries with data for 2021.
- Is oil reserves rising or falling in Japan?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Japan data come from?
- The figures come from U.S. Energy Information Administration (2022) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Oil reserves. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 42 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Proved reserves, measured in cubic meters, are generally those quantities that can be recovered in the future from known reservoirs under existing economic and operating conditions, according to geological and engineering information. Includes crude oil and lease condensate.