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

Japan vs China: population pyramids in 1997

1997Swap

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 1997, Japan has a population of 126.1 million and China 1.24 billion; China is about 9.8 times the size of Japan.

The share aged 65 and over is 15.5% in Japan and 6.3% in China, 9.2 points higher in Japan. The median age is 40.6 years in Japan and 27.9 years in China.

The total fertility rate is 1.38 in Japan and 1.53 in China, both below the replacement level of about 2.1. Life expectancy at birth is 80.6 years in Japan and 71.2 years in China.

By 2050, the population of Japan is projected to shrink by 16.7% and that of China to grow by 2.3% compared with 1997.

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

Key figures (1997)

JapanChina
Population126.1 million1.24 billion
Aged 0–1415.2%26.7%
Aged 15–6469.3%67.0%
Aged 65+15.5%6.3%
Median age40.6 yrs27.9 yrs
Old-age dependency22.39.4
Total fertility rate1.381.53
Life expectancy80.6 yrs71.2 yrs
Population growth+0.23%+0.79%
Net migration (per year)+43,366-279,251
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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