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

Republic of Korea vs Japan: population pyramids in 2038

2038Swap

Republic of KoreaJapan

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.

Republic of Korea and Japan compared

In 2038, the Republic of Korea has a population of 49.6 million and Japan 113.8 million; Japan is about 2.3 times the size of the Republic of Korea.

The share aged 65 and over is 31.8% in the Republic of Korea and 33.9% in Japan, 2.1 points higher in Japan. The median age is 53.3 years in the Republic of Korea and 53.8 years in Japan.

The total fertility rate is 0.91 in the Republic of Korea and 1.31 in Japan, both below the replacement level of about 2.1. Life expectancy at birth is 86.0 years in the Republic of Korea and 86.8 years in Japan.

By 2050, the population of the Republic of Korea is projected to shrink by 8.8% and that of Japan to shrink by 7.7% compared with 2038.

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

Figures from 2024 are UN medium-variant projections.

Key figures (2038)

Republic of KoreaJapan
Population49.6 million113.8 million
Aged 0–147.7%10.2%
Aged 15–6460.5%55.9%
Aged 65+31.8%33.9%
Median age53.3 yrs53.8 yrs
Old-age dependency52.560.6
Total fertility rate0.911.31
Life expectancy86.0 yrs86.8 yrs
Population growth-0.57%-0.65%
Net migration (per year)+21,379+121,736
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.

Compare other years