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

Republic of Korea vs Japan: population pyramids in 1996

1996Swap

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 1996, the Republic of Korea has a population of 45.5 million and Japan 125.8 million; Japan is about 2.8 times the size of the Republic of Korea.

The share aged 65 and over is 5.9% in the Republic of Korea and 14.9% in Japan, 9.1 points higher in Japan. The median age is 29.6 years in the Republic of Korea and 40.2 years in Japan.

The total fertility rate is 1.60 in the Republic of Korea and 1.40 in Japan, both below the replacement level of about 2.1. Life expectancy at birth is 74.0 years in the Republic of Korea and 80.4 years in Japan.

By 2050, the population of the Republic of Korea is projected to shrink by 0.4% and that of Japan to shrink by 16.5% compared with 1996.

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

Key figures (1996)

Republic of KoreaJapan
Population45.5 million125.8 million
Aged 0–1422.8%15.5%
Aged 15–6471.3%69.6%
Aged 65+5.9%14.9%
Median age29.6 yrs40.2 yrs
Old-age dependency8.221.4
Total fertility rate1.601.40
Life expectancy74.0 yrs80.4 yrs
Population growth+0.68%+0.23%
Net migration (per year)-115,705+25,030
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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