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

Japan vs Germany: population pyramids in 1987

1987Swap

JapanGermany

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 Germany compared

In 1987, Japan has a population of 121.7 million and Germany 78 million; Japan is about 1.6 times the size of Germany.

The share aged 65 and over is 10.8% in Japan and 14.8% in Germany, 4.0 points higher in Germany. The median age is 36.2 years in Japan and 37.1 years in Germany.

The total fertility rate is 1.67 in Japan and 1.44 in Germany, both below the replacement level of about 2.1. Life expectancy at birth is 78.6 years in Japan and 75.1 years in Germany.

By 2050, the population of Japan is projected to shrink by 13.7% and that of Germany to grow by 0.5% compared with 1987.

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

Key figures (1987)

JapanGermany
Population121.7 million78 million
Aged 0–1420.7%15.7%
Aged 15–6468.5%69.5%
Aged 65+10.8%14.8%
Median age36.2 yrs37.1 yrs
Old-age dependency15.721.2
Total fertility rate1.671.44
Life expectancy78.6 yrs75.1 yrs
Population growth+0.46%+0.18%
Net migration (per year)+28,001+174,272
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.

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