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

Japan vs Republic of Korea: population pyramids in 1971

1971Swap

JapanRepublic of Korea

2%1.5%1%0.5%0%0.5%1%1.5%2%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 Republic of Korea compared

In 1971, Japan has a population of 107.3 million and the Republic of Korea 32.9 million; Japan is about 3.3 times the size of the Republic of Korea.

The share aged 65 and over is 7.1% in Japan and 3.4% in the Republic of Korea, 3.7 points higher in Japan. The median age is 29.4 years in Japan and 18.7 years in the Republic of Korea.

The total fertility rate is 2.09 in Japan and 4.26 in the Republic of Korea, so only Japan is below the replacement level of about 2.1. Life expectancy at birth is 72.8 years in Japan and 62.7 years in the Republic of Korea.

By 2050, the population of Japan is projected to shrink by 2.1% and that of the Republic of Korea to grow by 37.7% compared with 1971.

GDP per person is $36K in Japan (2025) and $36K in the Republic of Korea (2025).

Key figures (1971)

JapanRepublic of Korea
Population107.3 million32.9 million
Aged 0–1423.2%41.8%
Aged 15–6469.7%54.8%
Aged 65+7.1%3.4%
Median age29.4 yrs18.7 yrs
Old-age dependency10.26.2
Total fertility rate2.094.26
Life expectancy72.8 yrs62.7 yrs
Population growth+1.15%+2.10%
Net migration (per year)-107,778-6,326
GDP$4.44T (2025)$1.87T (2025)
GDP per person$36K (2025)$36K (2025)
Unemployment2.5% (2025)2.7% (2025)

Economic figures are the latest year published for each country.

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