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

Japan vs Brazil: population pyramids in 1978

1978Swap

JapanBrazil

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.

Japan and Brazil compared

In 1978, Japan has a population of 116.1 million and Brazil 114.2 million; the two are about the same size.

The share aged 65 and over is 8.5% in Japan and 3.4% in Brazil, 5.1 points higher in Japan. The median age is 31.4 years in Japan and 19.7 years in Brazil.

The total fertility rate is 1.79 in Japan and 4.20 in Brazil, so only Japan is below the replacement level of about 2.1. Life expectancy at birth is 75.7 years in Japan and 60.9 years in Brazil.

By 2050, the population of Japan is projected to shrink by 9.5% and that of Brazil to grow by 90.5% compared with 1978.

GDP per person is $36K in Japan (2025) and $11K in Brazil (2025).

Key figures (1978)

JapanBrazil
Population116.1 million114.2 million
Aged 0–1423.8%39.4%
Aged 15–6467.7%57.3%
Aged 65+8.5%3.4%
Median age31.4 yrs19.7 yrs
Old-age dependency12.55.9
Total fertility rate1.794.20
Life expectancy75.7 yrs60.9 yrs
Population growth+0.84%+2.38%
Net migration (per year)-47,996-23,416
GDP$4.44T (2025)$2.28T (2025)
GDP per person$36K (2025)$11K (2025)
Unemployment2.5% (2025)6% (2025)

Economic figures are the latest year published for each country.

Compare other years