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

Japan vs Republic of Korea: population pyramids in 1979

1979Swap

JapanRepublic of Korea

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 Republic of Korea compared

In 1979, Japan has a population of 117.1 million and the Republic of Korea 37.5 million; Japan is about 3.1 times the size of the Republic of Korea.

The share aged 65 and over is 8.7% in Japan and 3.7% in the Republic of Korea, 5.0 points higher in Japan. The median age is 31.9 years in Japan and 21.2 years in the Republic of Korea.

The total fertility rate is 1.77 in Japan and 2.75 in the Republic of Korea, so only Japan is below the replacement level of about 2.1. Life expectancy at birth is 76.2 years in Japan and 66.1 years in the Republic of Korea.

By 2050, the population of Japan is projected to shrink by 10.3% and that of the Republic of Korea to grow by 20.8% compared with 1979.

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

Key figures (1979)

JapanRepublic of Korea
Population117.1 million37.5 million
Aged 0–1423.8%35.1%
Aged 15–6467.5%61.1%
Aged 65+8.7%3.7%
Median age31.9 yrs21.2 yrs
Old-age dependency12.96.1
Total fertility rate1.772.75
Life expectancy76.2 yrs66.1 yrs
Population growth+0.78%+1.15%
Net migration (per year)-57,692-139,566
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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