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

Japan vs Republic of Korea: population pyramids in 2012

2012Swap

JapanRepublic of Korea

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 Republic of Korea compared

In 2012, Japan has a population of 128 million and the Republic of Korea 49.4 million; Japan is about 2.6 times the size of the Republic of Korea.

The share aged 65 and over is 24.0% in Japan and 11.5% in the Republic of Korea, 12.5 points higher in Japan. The median age is 45.7 years in Japan and 38.5 years in the Republic of Korea.

The total fertility rate is 1.38 in Japan and 1.27 in the Republic of Korea, both below the replacement level of about 2.1. Life expectancy at birth is 83.2 years in Japan and 81.3 years in the Republic of Korea.

By 2050, the population of Japan is projected to shrink by 17.9% and that of the Republic of Korea to shrink by 8.3% compared with 2012.

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

Key figures (2012)

JapanRepublic of Korea
Population128 million49.4 million
Aged 0–1413.3%15.5%
Aged 15–6462.7%73.0%
Aged 65+24.0%11.5%
Median age45.7 yrs38.5 yrs
Old-age dependency38.315.8
Total fertility rate1.381.27
Life expectancy83.2 yrs81.3 yrs
Population growth-0.15%+0.96%
Net migration (per year)+67,904+281,866
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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