Shimane: population, jobs, income, health, schools, welfare and budgets

Shimane is a prefecture of Japan, number 46 of 47 by population. Shimane had 642,000 residents on 1 October 2024 according to the Statistics Bureau population estimate, 2nd least populous of 47 prefectures and 0.52% of Japan's 123,802,000 people.

In depth

• Economy, jobs and prices in Shimane: The gross prefectural product (the value of everything produced in the prefecture, at current prices) of Shimane was 2.96 trillion yen in fiscal 2023 (April 2023 to March 2024), 3rd smallest of 42 prefectures with published figures.
• Health in Shimane: The number of doctors working in medical facilities per 100,000 people in Shimane was 307.6 in 2022, 10th highest of 47 prefectures.
• Education in Shimane: The number of primary schools per 100,000 children aged 6 to 11 in Shimane was 570.7 in 2024, 2nd highest of 47 prefectures.
• Poverty and living standards in Shimane: The number of people receiving public assistance (seikatsu hogo) per 1,000 people in Shimane was 8.28 in 2023, 9th lowest of 47 prefectures.
• Government budget and revenue in Shimane: The fiscal strength index of the prefectural government (1.0 means tax revenue covers standard needs) in Shimane was 0.254 in 2022, the lowest of 47 prefectures.

How prefectures are governed in Japan

Prefectures (47: 1 to, 1 do, 2 fu, 43 ken). Governor (chiji) and prefectural assembly both directly elected for four years. Police, upper secondary schools, regional planning, hospitals, support to municipalities.

Every tier of government in Japan

Other prefectures of Japan

• Tokyo 14,178,000
• Kanagawa 9,225,000
• Osaka 8,757,000
• Aichi 7,460,000
• Saitama 7,332,000
• Chiba 6,251,000
• Hyogo 5,337,000
• Fukuoka 5,092,000
• Hokkaido 5,043,000
• Shizuoka 3,527,000
• Ibaraki 2,806,000
• Hiroshima 2,714,000
• Kyoto 2,520,000
• Miyagi 2,248,000
• Niigata 2,099,000
• Nagano 1,987,000
• Gifu 1,916,000
• Gunma 1,890,000
• Tochigi 1,885,000
• Okayama 1,831,000
• Fukushima 1,743,000
• Mie 1,711,000
• Kumamoto 1,697,000
• Kagoshima 1,532,000
• Okinawa 1,466,000
• Shiga 1,402,000
• Nara 1,285,000
• Yamaguchi 1,281,000
• Ehime 1,276,000
• Nagasaki 1,252,000
• Aomori 1,165,000
• Iwate 1,145,000
• Ishikawa 1,098,000
• Oita 1,085,000
• Miyazaki 1,033,000
• Yamagata 1,011,000
• Toyama 997,000
• Kagawa 917,000
• Akita 897,000
• Wakayama 880,000
• Yamanashi 791,000
• Saga 788,000
• Fukui 739,000
• Tokushima 685,000
• Kochi 656,000
• Tottori 531,000

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Sources

• Economic and Social Research Institute, Cabinet Office, Government of Japan: Prefectural Accounts FY2011-FY2023, summary table 10: persons employed in the prefecture (by workplace), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 55c5e5c6ba36…)
• Economic and Social Research Institute, Cabinet Office, Government of Japan: Prefectural Accounts 1968-... FY2011-FY2023 (2008 SNA, 2015 base), summary table 1: gross prefectural product (nominal), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 264f5d5c24dc…)
• Economic and Social Research Institute, Cabinet Office, Government of Japan: Prefectural Accounts FY2011-FY2023, summary table 7: prefectural income per person, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 e3802459b8d1…)
• Statistics Bureau of Japan, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications: Population Estimates as of 1 October 2024, Table 2: population by prefecture and sex, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 171c9930a3c8…)
• Statistics Bureau of Japan, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications: Statistical Observations of Prefectures 2026 (Tōkei de miru todōfuken no sugata), full volume, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 b69774a5f40c…)
• Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan, via e-Stat: Public Assistance Recipients Survey, monthly viewing tables for March 2026 (recipients and households by prefecture and city), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 35c582f0afd2…)
• Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), via e-Stat: School Basic Survey fiscal 2025, table ey-289: what high school leavers did next, by prefecture and sex (graduates of March 2025), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 554ef7b4107e…)
• Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan: Prefectural Life Tables 2020: chart and table data (life expectancy at selected ages), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 85e022250f89…)
• Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan: Survey of Medical Institutions 2023 (static survey, 1 October 2023), statistical tables 1-14, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 c58768c41bfc…)
• Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), via e-Stat: School Basic Survey fiscal 2026 (preliminary, 1 May 2026), table 4: primary schools, classes, pupils and staff by prefecture, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 7f5e434b3617…)

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