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

Republic of Korea vs Japan: population pyramids in 1978

1978Swap

Republic of KoreaJapan

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.

Republic of Korea and Japan compared

In 1978, the Republic of Korea has a population of 37.1 million and Japan 116.1 million; Japan is about 3.1 times the size of the Republic of Korea.

The share aged 65 and over is 3.7% in the Republic of Korea and 8.5% in Japan, 4.8 points higher in Japan. The median age is 20.8 years in the Republic of Korea and 31.4 years in Japan.

The total fertility rate is 2.70 in the Republic of Korea and 1.79 in Japan, so only Japan is below the replacement level of about 2.1. Life expectancy at birth is 65.0 years in the Republic of Korea and 75.7 years in Japan.

By 2050, the population of the Republic of Korea is projected to grow by 22.2% and that of Japan to shrink by 9.5% compared with 1978.

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

Key figures (1978)

Republic of KoreaJapan
Population37.1 million116.1 million
Aged 0–1436.0%23.8%
Aged 15–6460.3%67.7%
Aged 65+3.7%8.5%
Median age20.8 yrs31.4 yrs
Old-age dependency6.112.5
Total fertility rate2.701.79
Life expectancy65.0 yrs75.7 yrs
Population growth+1.14%+0.84%
Net migration (per year)-85,721-47,996
GDP$1.87T (2025)$4.44T (2025)
GDP per person$36K (2025)$36K (2025)
Unemployment2.7% (2025)2.5% (2025)

Economic figures are the latest year published for each country.

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