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

Japan vs United States of America: population pyramids in 1978

1978Swap

JapanUnited States of America

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 United States of America compared

In 1978, Japan has a population of 116.1 million and the United States of America 224.3 million; the United States of America is about 1.9 times the size of Japan.

The share aged 65 and over is 8.5% in Japan and 10.7% in the United States of America, 2.2 points higher in the United States of America. The median age is 31.4 years in Japan and 29.4 years in the United States of America.

The total fertility rate is 1.79 in Japan and 1.80 in the United States of America, both below the replacement level of about 2.1. Life expectancy at birth is 75.7 years in Japan and 73.4 years in the United States of America.

By 2050, the population of Japan is projected to shrink by 9.5% and that of the United States of America to grow by 69.5% compared with 1978.

GDP per person is $36K in Japan (2025) and $90K in the United States of America (2025).

Key figures (1978)

JapanUnited States of America
Population116.1 million224.3 million
Aged 0–1423.8%23.5%
Aged 15–6467.7%65.8%
Aged 65+8.5%10.7%
Median age31.4 yrs29.4 yrs
Old-age dependency12.516.2
Total fertility rate1.791.80
Life expectancy75.7 yrs73.4 yrs
Population growth+0.84%+0.94%
Net migration (per year)-47,996+556,521
GDP$4.44T (2025)$30.8T (2025)
GDP per person$36K (2025)$90K (2025)
Unemployment2.5% (2025)4.2% (2025)

Economic figures are the latest year published for each country.

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