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

India vs Japan: population pyramids in 1979

1979Swap

IndiaJapan

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.

India and Japan compared

In 1979, India has a population of 663.1 million and Japan 117.1 million; India is about 5.7 times the size of Japan.

The share aged 65 and over is 3.9% in India and 8.7% in Japan, 4.8 points higher in Japan. The median age is 19.7 years in India and 31.9 years in Japan.

The total fertility rate is 4.81 in India and 1.77 in Japan, so only Japan is below the replacement level of about 2.1. Life expectancy at birth is 53.0 years in India and 76.2 years in Japan.

By 2050, the population of India is projected to grow by 153.0% and that of Japan to shrink by 10.3% compared with 1979.

GDP per person is $2,702 in India (2025) and $36K in Japan (2025).

Key figures (1979)

IndiaJapan
Population663.1 million117.1 million
Aged 0–1440.0%23.8%
Aged 15–6456.0%67.5%
Aged 65+3.9%8.7%
Median age19.7 yrs31.9 yrs
Old-age dependency7.012.9
Total fertility rate4.811.77
Life expectancy53.0 yrs76.2 yrs
Population growth+2.41%+0.78%
Net migration (per year)+774,094-57,692
GDP$3.96T (2025)$4.44T (2025)
GDP per person$2,702 (2025)$36K (2025)
Unemployment4.2% (2025)2.5% (2025)

Economic figures are the latest year published for each country.

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