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

United Kingdom vs Japan: population pyramids in 1981

1981Swap

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 1981, the United Kingdom has a population of 56.3 million and Japan 118.7 million; Japan is about 2.1 times the size of the United Kingdom.

The share aged 65 and over is 15.0% in the United Kingdom and 9.2% in Japan, 5.9 points higher in the United Kingdom. The median age is 34.4 years in the United Kingdom and 33.0 years in Japan.

The total fertility rate is 1.82 in the United Kingdom and 1.72 in Japan, both below the replacement level of about 2.1. Life expectancy at birth is 73.9 years in the United Kingdom and 76.6 years in Japan.

By 2050, the population of the United Kingdom is projected to grow by 33.9% and that of Japan to shrink by 11.5% compared with 1981.

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

Key figures (1981)

United KingdomJapan
Population56.3 million118.7 million
Aged 0–1420.8%23.3%
Aged 15–6464.2%67.5%
Aged 65+15.0%9.2%
Median age34.4 yrs33.0 yrs
Old-age dependency23.413.6
Total fertility rate1.821.72
Life expectancy73.9 yrs76.6 yrs
Population growth-0.03%+0.43%
Net migration (per year)-83,876-278,525
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