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

Germany vs Japan: population pyramids in 1972

1972Swap

GermanyJapan

1.5%1%0.5%0%0.5%1%1.5%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.

Germany and Japan compared

In 1972, Germany has a population of 78.6 million and Japan 108.6 million; Japan is about 1.4 times the size of Germany.

The share aged 65 and over is 14.0% in Germany and 7.3% in Japan, 6.7 points higher in Germany. The median age is 34.4 years in Germany and 29.7 years in Japan.

The total fertility rate is 1.73 in Germany and 2.11 in Japan, so only Germany is below the replacement level of about 2.1. Life expectancy at birth is 71.2 years in Germany and 73.3 years in Japan.

By 2050, the population of Germany is projected to shrink by 0.3% and that of Japan to shrink by 3.3% compared with 1972.

GDP per person is $60K in Germany (2025) and $36K in Japan (2025).

Key figures (1972)

GermanyJapan
Population78.6 million108.6 million
Aged 0–1422.9%23.3%
Aged 15–6463.1%69.4%
Aged 65+14.0%7.3%
Median age34.4 yrs29.7 yrs
Old-age dependency22.210.5
Total fertility rate1.732.11
Life expectancy71.2 yrs73.3 yrs
Population growth+0.33%+1.22%
Net migration (per year)+336,015-73,980
GDP$5.05T (2025)$4.44T (2025)
GDP per person$60K (2025)$36K (2025)
Unemployment3.7% (2025)2.5% (2025)

Economic figures are the latest year published for each country.

Compare other years