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

United States of America vs Japan: population pyramids in 1972

1972Swap

United States of AmericaJapan

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.

United States of America and Japan compared

In 1972, the United States of America has a population of 211.7 million and Japan 108.6 million; the United States of America is about 1.9 times the size of Japan.

The share aged 65 and over is 9.8% in the United States of America and 7.3% in Japan, 2.5 points higher in the United States of America. The median age is 27.9 years in the United States of America and 29.7 years in Japan.

The total fertility rate is 2.06 in the United States of America and 2.11 in Japan, so only the United States of America is below the replacement level of about 2.1. Life expectancy at birth is 71.2 years in the United States of America and 73.3 years in Japan.

By 2050, the population of the United States of America is projected to grow by 79.6% and that of Japan to shrink by 3.3% compared with 1972.

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

Key figures (1972)

United States of AmericaJapan
Population211.7 million108.6 million
Aged 0–1427.7%23.3%
Aged 15–6462.4%69.4%
Aged 65+9.8%7.3%
Median age27.9 yrs29.7 yrs
Old-age dependency15.810.5
Total fertility rate2.062.11
Life expectancy71.2 yrs73.3 yrs
Population growth+1.06%+1.22%
Net migration (per year)+833,543-73,980
GDP$30.8T (2025)$4.44T (2025)
GDP per person$90K (2025)$36K (2025)
Unemployment4.2% (2025)2.5% (2025)

Economic figures are the latest year published for each country.

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