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

Japan vs Germany: population pyramids in 1988

1988Swap

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 1988, Japan has a population of 122.2 million and Germany 78.1 million; Japan is about 1.6 times the size of Germany.

The share aged 65 and over is 11.1% in Japan and 14.9% in Germany, 3.8 points higher in Germany. The median age is 36.7 years in Japan and 37.5 years in Germany.

The total fertility rate is 1.63 in Japan and 1.46 in Germany, both below the replacement level of about 2.1. Life expectancy at birth is 78.5 years in Japan and 75.3 years in Germany.

By 2050, the population of Japan is projected to shrink by 14.1% and that of Germany to grow by 0.3% compared with 1988.

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

Key figures (1988)

JapanGermany
Population122.2 million78.1 million
Aged 0–1419.9%15.6%
Aged 15–6468.9%69.5%
Aged 65+11.1%14.9%
Median age36.7 yrs37.5 yrs
Old-age dependency16.121.5
Total fertility rate1.631.46
Life expectancy78.5 yrs75.3 yrs
Population growth+0.41%+0.64%
Net migration (per year)+51,154+515,962
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