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

Japan vs China: population pyramids in 2021

2021Swap

JapanChina

1%0.75%0.5%0.25%0%0.25%0.5%0.75%1%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 2021, Japan has a population of 125.9 million and China 1.43 billion; China is about 11 times the size of Japan.

The share aged 65 and over is 29.0% in Japan and 12.9% in China, 16.1 points higher in Japan. The median age is 48.9 years in Japan and 38.7 years in China.

The total fertility rate is 1.27 in Japan and 1.12 in China, both below the replacement level of about 2.1. Life expectancy at birth is 84.5 years in Japan and 78.1 years in China.

By 2050, the population of Japan is projected to shrink by 16.6% and that of China to shrink by 11.3% compared with 2021.

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

Key figures (2021)

JapanChina
Population125.9 million1.43 billion
Aged 0–1412.2%17.8%
Aged 15–6458.8%69.3%
Aged 65+29.0%12.9%
Median age48.9 yrs38.7 yrs
Old-age dependency49.318.7
Total fertility rate1.271.12
Life expectancy84.5 yrs78.1 yrs
Population growth-0.56%-0.05%
Net migration (per year)-34,996-379,749
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