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

Japan vs China: population pyramids in 1987

1987Swap

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 1987, Japan has a population of 121.7 million and China 1.09 billion; China is about 8.9 times the size of Japan.

The share aged 65 and over is 10.8% in Japan and 5.0% in China, 5.8 points higher in Japan. The median age is 36.2 years in Japan and 23.4 years in China.

The total fertility rate is 1.67 in Japan and 2.76 in China, so only Japan is below the replacement level of about 2.1. Life expectancy at birth is 78.6 years in Japan and 67.3 years in China.

By 2050, the population of Japan is projected to shrink by 13.7% and that of China to grow by 16.4% compared with 1987.

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

Key figures (1987)

JapanChina
Population121.7 million1.09 billion
Aged 0–1420.7%30.1%
Aged 15–6468.5%64.9%
Aged 65+10.8%5.0%
Median age36.2 yrs23.4 yrs
Old-age dependency15.77.7
Total fertility rate1.672.76
Life expectancy78.6 yrs67.3 yrs
Population growth+0.46%+1.79%
Net migration (per year)+28,001-169,170
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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