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

Japan vs Italy: population pyramids in 1972

1972Swap

JapanItaly

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 Italy compared

In 1972, Japan has a population of 108.6 million and Italy 53.9 million; Japan is about 2.0 times the size of Italy.

The share aged 65 and over is 7.3% in Japan and 11.4% in Italy, 4.1 points higher in Italy. The median age is 29.7 years in Japan and 33.2 years in Italy.

The total fertility rate is 2.11 in Japan and 2.35 in Italy, both above the replacement level of about 2.1. Life expectancy at birth is 73.3 years in Japan and 72.2 years in Italy.

By 2050, the population of Japan is projected to shrink by 3.3% and that of Italy to shrink by 3.4% compared with 1972.

GDP per person is $36K in Japan (2025) and $43K in Italy (2025).

Key figures (1972)

JapanItaly
Population108.6 million53.9 million
Aged 0–1423.3%24.6%
Aged 15–6469.4%64.0%
Aged 65+7.3%11.4%
Median age29.7 yrs33.2 yrs
Old-age dependency10.517.9
Total fertility rate2.112.35
Life expectancy73.3 yrs72.2 yrs
Population growth+1.22%+0.74%
Net migration (per year)-73,980+43,182
GDP$4.44T (2025)$2.55T (2025)
GDP per person$36K (2025)$43K (2025)
Unemployment2.5% (2025)6.4% (2025)

Economic figures are the latest year published for each country.

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