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

Japan vs Germany: population pyramids in 1979

1979Swap

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 1979, Japan has a population of 117.1 million and Germany 78.1 million; Japan is about 1.5 times the size of Germany.

The share aged 65 and over is 8.7% in Japan and 15.6% in Germany, 6.9 points higher in Germany. The median age is 31.9 years in Japan and 36.5 years in Germany.

The total fertility rate is 1.77 in Japan and 1.49 in Germany, both below the replacement level of about 2.1. Life expectancy at birth is 76.2 years in Japan and 72.9 years in Germany.

By 2050, the population of Japan is projected to shrink by 10.3% and that of Germany to grow by 0.4% compared with 1979.

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

Key figures (1979)

JapanGermany
Population117.1 million78.1 million
Aged 0–1423.8%19.4%
Aged 15–6467.5%65.0%
Aged 65+8.7%15.6%
Median age31.9 yrs36.5 yrs
Old-age dependency12.924.0
Total fertility rate1.771.49
Life expectancy76.2 yrs72.9 yrs
Population growth+0.78%+0.13%
Net migration (per year)-57,692+237,705
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