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

Japan vs China: population pyramids in 1981

1981Swap

JapanChina

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.

Japan and China compared

In 1981, Japan has a population of 118.7 million and China 990.2 million; China is about 8.3 times the size of Japan.

The share aged 65 and over is 9.2% in Japan and 4.4% in China, 4.7 points higher in Japan. The median age is 33.0 years in Japan and 22.0 years in China.

The total fertility rate is 1.72 in Japan and 2.79 in China, so only Japan is below the replacement level of about 2.1. Life expectancy at birth is 76.6 years in Japan and 64.8 years in China.

By 2050, the population of Japan is projected to shrink by 11.5% and that of China to grow by 27.8% compared with 1981.

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

Key figures (1981)

JapanChina
Population118.7 million990.2 million
Aged 0–1423.3%35.6%
Aged 15–6467.5%60.0%
Aged 65+9.2%4.4%
Median age33.0 yrs22.0 yrs
Old-age dependency13.67.4
Total fertility rate1.722.79
Life expectancy76.6 yrs64.8 yrs
Population growth+0.43%+1.50%
Net migration (per year)-278,525-28,016
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