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

Japan vs China: population pyramids in 2026

2026Swap

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 2026, Japan has a population of 122.6 million and China 1.41 billion; China is about 12 times the size of Japan.

The share aged 65 and over is 30.0% in Japan and 15.0% in China, 15.0 points higher in Japan. The median age is 51.0 years in Japan and 41.4 years in China.

The total fertility rate is 1.23 in Japan and 1.03 in China, both below the replacement level of about 2.1. Life expectancy at birth is 85.2 years in Japan and 79.0 years in China.

By 2050, the population of Japan is projected to shrink by 14.4% and that of China to shrink by 10.6% compared with 2026.

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

Figures from 2024 are UN medium-variant projections.

Key figures (2026)

JapanChina
Population122.6 million1.41 billion
Aged 0–1411.2%15.1%
Aged 15–6458.8%69.9%
Aged 65+30.0%15.0%
Median age51.0 yrs41.4 yrs
Old-age dependency51.121.5
Total fertility rate1.231.03
Life expectancy85.2 yrs79.0 yrs
Population growth-0.56%-0.22%
Net migration (per year)+128,619-232,107
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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