World Population PyramidsPopulation pyramids and indicators by country and year日本語

China vs Japan: population pyramids in 1969

1969Swap

ChinaJapan

2%1.5%1%0.5%0%0.5%1%1.5%2%0102030405060708090100MaleFemale

Each bar is the share of the total population at that single year of age (men left, women right), so countries of different sizes can be compared.

China and Japan compared

In 1969, China has a population of 791.7 million and Japan 104.9 million; China is about 7.6 times the size of Japan.

The share aged 65 and over is 3.7% in China and 6.9% in Japan, 3.2 points higher in Japan. The median age is 19.0 years in China and 28.7 years in Japan.

The total fertility rate is 6.18 in China and 2.03 in Japan, so only Japan is below the replacement level of about 2.1. Life expectancy at birth is 56.0 years in China and 71.9 years in Japan.

By 2050, the population of China is projected to grow by 59.8% and that of Japan to grow by 0.2% compared with 1969.

GDP per person is $14K in China (2025) and $36K in Japan (2025).

Key figures (1969)

ChinaJapan
Population791.7 million104.9 million
Aged 0–1441.0%23.4%
Aged 15–6455.3%69.7%
Aged 65+3.7%6.9%
Median age19.0 yrs28.7 yrs
Old-age dependency6.69.9
Total fertility rate6.182.03
Life expectancy56.0 yrs71.9 yrs
Population growth+2.60%+1.17%
Net migration (per year)-72,836+49,447
GDP$19.5T (2025)$4.44T (2025)
GDP per person$14K (2025)$36K (2025)
Unemployment4.6% (2025)2.5% (2025)

Economic figures are the latest year published for each country.

Compare other years