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

China vs Japan: population pyramids in 1978

1978Swap

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 1978, China has a population of 949.8 million and Japan 116.1 million; China is about 8.2 times the size of Japan.

The share aged 65 and over is 4.1% in China and 8.5% in Japan, 4.3 points higher in Japan. The median age is 21.0 years in China and 31.4 years in Japan.

The total fertility rate is 2.72 in China and 1.79 in Japan, so only Japan is below the replacement level of about 2.1. Life expectancy at birth is 63.1 years in China and 75.7 years in Japan.

By 2050, the population of China is projected to grow by 33.2% and that of Japan to shrink by 9.5% compared with 1978.

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

Key figures (1978)

ChinaJapan
Population949.8 million116.1 million
Aged 0–1439.3%23.8%
Aged 15–6456.5%67.7%
Aged 65+4.1%8.5%
Median age21.0 yrs31.4 yrs
Old-age dependency7.312.5
Total fertility rate2.721.79
Life expectancy63.1 yrs75.7 yrs
Population growth+1.32%+0.84%
Net migration (per year)-9,916-47,996
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.

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