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

Japan vs China: population pyramids in 1974

1974Swap

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 1974, Japan has a population of 111.3 million and China 891.9 million; China is about 8.0 times the size of Japan.

The share aged 65 and over is 7.7% in Japan and 3.8% in China, 3.8 points higher in Japan. The median age is 30.3 years in Japan and 19.6 years in China.

The total fertility rate is 2.07 in Japan and 4.17 in China, so only Japan is below the replacement level of about 2.1. Life expectancy at birth is 73.8 years in Japan and 60.2 years in China.

By 2050, the population of Japan is projected to shrink by 5.6% and that of China to grow by 41.8% compared with 1974.

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

Key figures (1974)

JapanChina
Population111.3 million891.9 million
Aged 0–1423.7%40.1%
Aged 15–6468.7%56.1%
Aged 65+7.7%3.8%
Median age30.3 yrs19.6 yrs
Old-age dependency11.26.9
Total fertility rate2.074.17
Life expectancy73.8 yrs60.2 yrs
Population growth+1.23%+1.87%
Net migration (per year)-10,145-175,239
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.

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