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

Japan vs China: population pyramids in 1972

1972Swap

JapanChina

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 China compared

In 1972, Japan has a population of 108.6 million and China 854.1 million; China is about 7.9 times the size of Japan.

The share aged 65 and over is 7.3% in Japan and 3.8% in China, 3.5 points higher in Japan. The median age is 29.7 years in Japan and 19.2 years in China.

The total fertility rate is 2.11 in Japan and 5.11 in China, both above the replacement level of about 2.1. Life expectancy at birth is 73.3 years in Japan and 58.6 years in China.

By 2050, the population of Japan is projected to shrink by 3.3% and that of China to grow by 48.1% compared with 1972.

GDP per person is $36K in Japan (2025) and $14K in China (2025).

Key figures (1972)

JapanChina
Population108.6 million854.1 million
Aged 0–1423.3%40.6%
Aged 15–6469.4%55.7%
Aged 65+7.3%3.8%
Median age29.7 yrs19.2 yrs
Old-age dependency10.56.7
Total fertility rate2.115.11
Life expectancy73.3 yrs58.6 yrs
Population growth+1.22%+2.23%
Net migration (per year)-73,980-215,650
GDP$4.44T (2025)$19.5T (2025)
GDP per person$36K (2025)$14K (2025)
Unemployment2.5% (2025)4.6% (2025)

Economic figures are the latest year published for each country.

Compare other years