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

Italy vs Japan: population pyramids in 1959

1959Swap

ItalyJapan

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.

Italy and Japan compared

In 1959, Italy has a population of 49.1 million and Japan 95.2 million; Japan is about 1.9 times the size of Italy.

The share aged 65 and over is 9.3% in Italy and 5.6% in Japan, 3.7 points higher in Italy. The median age is 31.2 years in Italy and 25.1 years in Japan.

The total fertility rate is 2.39 in Italy and 2.03 in Japan, so only Japan is below the replacement level of about 2.1. Life expectancy at birth is 69.3 years in Italy and 67.5 years in Japan.

By 2050, the population of Italy is projected to grow by 6.0% and that of Japan to grow by 10.3% compared with 1959.

GDP per person is $43K in Italy (2025) and $36K in Japan (2025).

Key figures (1959)

ItalyJapan
Population49.1 million95.2 million
Aged 0–1424.9%30.4%
Aged 15–6465.8%64.1%
Aged 65+9.3%5.6%
Median age31.2 yrs25.1 yrs
Old-age dependency14.18.7
Total fertility rate2.392.03
Life expectancy69.3 yrs67.5 yrs
Population growth+0.62%+0.81%
Net migration (per year)-145,199-202,601
GDP$2.55T (2025)$4.44T (2025)
GDP per person$43K (2025)$36K (2025)
Unemployment6.4% (2025)2.5% (2025)

Economic figures are the latest year published for each country.

Compare other years