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

France vs Japan: population pyramids in 1981

1981Swap

FranceJapan

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.

France and Japan compared

In 1981, France has a population of 54.1 million and Japan 118.7 million; Japan is about 2.2 times the size of France.

The share aged 65 and over is 13.8% in France and 9.2% in Japan, 4.6 points higher in France. The median age is 32.5 years in France and 33.0 years in Japan.

The total fertility rate is 1.95 in France and 1.72 in Japan, both below the replacement level of about 2.1. Life expectancy at birth is 74.4 years in France and 76.6 years in Japan.

By 2050, the population of France is projected to grow by 25.9% and that of Japan to shrink by 11.5% compared with 1981.

GDP per person is $49K in France (2025) and $36K in Japan (2025).

Key figures (1981)

FranceJapan
Population54.1 million118.7 million
Aged 0–1422.3%23.3%
Aged 15–6463.9%67.5%
Aged 65+13.8%9.2%
Median age32.5 yrs33.0 yrs
Old-age dependency21.613.6
Total fertility rate1.951.72
Life expectancy74.4 yrs76.6 yrs
Population growth+0.59%+0.43%
Net migration (per year)+69,365-278,525
GDP$3.37T (2025)$4.44T (2025)
GDP per person$49K (2025)$36K (2025)
Unemployment7.5% (2025)2.5% (2025)

Economic figures are the latest year published for each country.

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