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

United Kingdom vs Japan: population pyramids in 1959

1959Swap

United KingdomJapan

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.

United Kingdom and Japan compared

In 1959, the United Kingdom has a population of 52.1 million and Japan 95.2 million; Japan is about 1.8 times the size of the United Kingdom.

The share aged 65 and over is 11.6% in the United Kingdom and 5.6% in Japan, 6.0 points higher in the United Kingdom. The median age is 35.5 years in the United Kingdom and 25.1 years in Japan.

The total fertility rate is 2.60 in the United Kingdom and 2.03 in Japan, so only Japan is below the replacement level of about 2.1. Life expectancy at birth is 70.8 years in the United Kingdom and 67.5 years in Japan.

By 2050, the population of the United Kingdom is projected to grow by 44.8% and that of Japan to grow by 10.3% compared with 1959.

GDP per person is $58K in the United Kingdom (2025) and $36K in Japan (2025).

Key figures (1959)

United KingdomJapan
Population52.1 million95.2 million
Aged 0–1423.3%30.4%
Aged 15–6465.1%64.1%
Aged 65+11.6%5.6%
Median age35.5 yrs25.1 yrs
Old-age dependency17.88.7
Total fertility rate2.602.03
Life expectancy70.8 yrs67.5 yrs
Population growth+0.56%+0.81%
Net migration (per year)+19,006-202,601
GDP$4T (2025)$4.44T (2025)
GDP per person$58K (2025)$36K (2025)
Unemployment4.8% (2025)2.5% (2025)

Economic figures are the latest year published for each country.

Compare other years