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

China vs Japan: population pyramids in 1973

1973Swap

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 1973, China has a population of 873.3 million and Japan 109.9 million; China is about 7.9 times the size of Japan.

The share aged 65 and over is 3.8% in China and 7.5% in Japan, 3.7 points higher in Japan. The median age is 19.4 years in China and 30.0 years in Japan.

The total fertility rate is 4.73 in China and 2.15 in Japan, both above the replacement level of about 2.1. Life expectancy at birth is 59.5 years in China and 73.4 years in Japan.

By 2050, the population of China is projected to grow by 44.9% and that of Japan to shrink by 4.4% compared with 1973.

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

Key figures (1973)

ChinaJapan
Population873.3 million109.9 million
Aged 0–1440.2%23.5%
Aged 15–6456.0%69.0%
Aged 65+3.8%7.5%
Median age19.4 yrs30.0 yrs
Old-age dependency6.810.8
Total fertility rate4.732.15
Life expectancy59.5 yrs73.4 yrs
Population growth+2.11%+1.28%
Net migration (per year)-214,997-34,674
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