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

Japan vs Germany: population pyramids in 1959

1959Swap

JapanGermany

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 Germany compared

In 1959, Japan has a population of 95.2 million and Germany 72 million; Japan is about 1.3 times the size of Germany.

The share aged 65 and over is 5.6% in Japan and 11.2% in Germany, 5.7 points higher in Germany. The median age is 25.1 years in Japan and 34.8 years in Germany.

The total fertility rate is 2.03 in Japan and 2.36 in Germany, so only Japan is below the replacement level of about 2.1. Life expectancy at birth is 67.5 years in Japan and 69.3 years in Germany.

By 2050, the population of Japan is projected to grow by 10.3% and that of Germany to grow by 8.9% compared with 1959.

GDP per person is $36K in Japan (2025) and $60K in Germany (2025).

Key figures (1959)

JapanGermany
Population95.2 million72 million
Aged 0–1430.4%20.9%
Aged 15–6464.1%67.9%
Aged 65+5.6%11.2%
Median age25.1 yrs34.8 yrs
Old-age dependency8.716.5
Total fertility rate2.032.36
Life expectancy67.5 yrs69.3 yrs
Population growth+0.81%+0.73%
Net migration (per year)-202,601+106,158
GDP$4.44T (2025)$5.05T (2025)
GDP per person$36K (2025)$60K (2025)
Unemployment2.5% (2025)3.7% (2025)

Economic figures are the latest year published for each country.

Compare other years