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Japan · prefecture

Okinawa population 2026

沖縄県

Okinawa has 1,466,000 people on the latest official figure, for 1 October 2024 (published to the nearest thousand), 2,000 fewer than a year earlier (−0.14%). It is 25th of Japan’s 47 prefectures by population, home to 1.2% of Japan’s people.

If last year’s change continues: about 1.5 million by 1 July 2026. That is our arithmetic, not an official figure.

Okinawa in numbers

Population
1.5 million 1 October 2024
Change in a year
−0.14% −2,000 people
Share of Japan
1.2% 25th of 47 prefectures
Population density
643per km² 2,281 km²

That is about as many people as Timor Leste (1.4 million).

Population of Okinawa by year

Population of Okinawa
1.5M
› Show the numbers as a table
YearPopulation
20211,468,000
20221,468,000
20231,468,000
20241,466,000
YearPopulationChange
2024 1,466,000 −2,000
2023 1,468,000 +0
2022 1,468,000 +0
2021 1,468,000 –

Okinawa among Japan’s prefectures

Full ranking →
Prefectures of Japan by population
#
1 Tokyo14,178,000+0.65%
2 Kanagawa9,225,000−0.04%
3 Osaka8,757,000−0.07%
4 Aichi7,460,000−0.23%
5 Saitama7,332,000+0.01%
6 Chiba6,251,000−0.10%
7 Hyogo5,337,000−0.61%
8 Fukuoka5,092,000−0.22%
9 Hokkaido5,043,000−0.96%
10 Shizuoka3,527,000−0.79%
11 Ibaraki2,806,000−0.67%
12 Hiroshima2,714,000−0.88%
13 Kyoto2,520,000−0.59%
14 Miyagi2,248,000−0.71%
15 Niigata2,099,000−1.27%
16 Nagano1,987,000−0.85%
17 Gifu1,916,000−0.78%
18 Gunma1,890,000−0.63%
19 Tochigi1,885,000−0.63%
20 Okayama1,831,000−0.87%
21 Fukushima1,743,000−1.36%
22 Mie1,711,000−0.93%
23 Kumamoto1,697,000−0.70%
24 Kagoshima1,532,000−1.10%
25 Okinawa1,466,000−0.14%
26 Shiga1,402,000−0.35%
27 Nara1,285,000−0.85%
28 Yamaguchi1,281,000−1.31%
29 Ehime1,276,000−1.16%
30 Nagasaki1,252,000−1.18%
31 Aomori1,165,000−1.60%
32 Iwate1,145,000−1.55%
33 Ishikawa1,098,000−0.99%
34 Oita1,085,000−1.00%
35 Miyazaki1,033,000−0.86%
36 Yamagata1,011,000−1.46%
37 Toyama997,000−0.99%
38 Kagawa917,000−0.97%
39 Akita897,000−1.86%
40 Wakayama880,000−1.34%
41 Yamanashi791,000−0.63%
42 Saga788,000−0.88%
43 Fukui739,000−0.67%
44 Tokushima685,000−1.44%
45 Kochi656,000−1.50%
46 Shimane642,000−1.23%
47 Tottori531,000−1.12%

Largest cities in Okinawa

City proper, not the wider metro area; latest figure in GeoNames (CC BY 4.0), so years differ.

  1. Naha317,625
  2. Okinawa142,752
  3. Uruma125,303
  4. Urasoe115,690
  5. Ginowan100,125
  6. Gushikawa65,251

Questions

What is the population of Okinawa in 2026?
The latest official figure is 1,466,000, for 1 October 2024 (Statistics Bureau of Japan). If last year’s change continues, Okinawa would have about 1.5 million people by 1 July 2026; that is our arithmetic, not an official figure. Prefecture estimates are published in thousands each spring; results of the 2025 census will supersede them.

Is Okinawa’s population growing or shrinking?
It shrank by 2,000 people (−0.14%) in the latest year.

How does Okinawa rank in Japan?
Okinawa is 25th of Japan’s 47 prefectures, with 1.2% of the people. Tokyo is the largest, with 14.2 million.

What is the population density of Okinawa?
About 643 people per km², on 2,281 km². Total area, Wikidata.

What is the largest city in Okinawa?
Naha, with about 318 thousand people in the city proper. Metro areas are larger, and years differ (GeoNames).

Source and method

Statistics Bureau of Japan, Population Estimates. Reuse with credit under the e-Gov terms. Total area, Wikidata. Prefecture estimates are published in thousands each spring; results of the 2025 census will supersede them. Ranks, shares and changes are our arithmetic on the published figures. National figures can differ from the UN’s projection for Japan, which uses a different method. The 2026 figure above carries last year’s change forward; it does not come from the source.

Cite this page: Okinawa population, Statistics Bureau of Japan, 1 October 2024. GlobeMetrics, https://globemetrics.org/world-population/japan/okinawa/

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