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

Japan vs China: population pyramids in 1991

1991Swap

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 1991, Japan has a population of 123.6 million and China 1.16 billion; China is about 9.4 times the size of Japan.

The share aged 65 and over is 12.4% in Japan and 5.4% in China, 7.0 points higher in Japan. The median age is 38.1 years in Japan and 24.9 years in China.

The total fertility rate is 1.50 in Japan and 1.93 in China, both below the replacement level of about 2.1. Life expectancy at birth is 79.3 years in Japan and 68.6 years in China.

By 2050, the population of Japan is projected to shrink by 15.0% and that of China to grow by 8.7% compared with 1991.

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

Key figures (1991)

JapanChina
Population123.6 million1.16 billion
Aged 0–1417.7%28.8%
Aged 15–6469.9%65.8%
Aged 65+12.4%5.4%
Median age38.1 yrs24.9 yrs
Old-age dependency17.78.2
Total fertility rate1.501.93
Life expectancy79.3 yrs68.6 yrs
Population growth+0.41%+1.22%
Net migration (per year)+161,331-544,650
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.

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