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

Japan vs United States of America: population pyramids in 1997

1997Swap

JapanUnited States of America

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 United States of America compared

In 1997, Japan has a population of 126.1 million and the United States of America 272.1 million; the United States of America is about 2.2 times the size of Japan.

The share aged 65 and over is 15.5% in Japan and 12.4% in the United States of America, 3.1 points higher in Japan. The median age is 40.6 years in Japan and 34.5 years in the United States of America.

The total fertility rate is 1.38 in Japan and 1.96 in the United States of America, both below the replacement level of about 2.1. Life expectancy at birth is 80.6 years in Japan and 76.5 years in the United States of America.

By 2050, the population of Japan is projected to shrink by 16.7% and that of the United States of America to grow by 39.7% compared with 1997.

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

Key figures (1997)

JapanUnited States of America
Population126.1 million272.1 million
Aged 0–1415.2%21.6%
Aged 15–6469.3%66.0%
Aged 65+15.5%12.4%
Median age40.6 yrs34.5 yrs
Old-age dependency22.318.7
Total fertility rate1.381.96
Life expectancy80.6 yrs76.5 yrs
Population growth+0.23%+0.95%
Net migration (per year)+43,366+1.1 million
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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