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

United States of America vs Japan: population pyramids in 1978

1978Swap

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 1978, the United States of America has a population of 224.3 million and Japan 116.1 million; the United States of America is about 1.9 times the size of Japan.

The share aged 65 and over is 10.7% in the United States of America and 8.5% in Japan, 2.2 points higher in the United States of America. The median age is 29.4 years in the United States of America and 31.4 years in Japan.

The total fertility rate is 1.80 in the United States of America and 1.79 in Japan, both below the replacement level of about 2.1. Life expectancy at birth is 73.4 years in the United States of America and 75.7 years in Japan.

By 2050, the population of the United States of America is projected to grow by 69.5% and that of Japan to shrink by 9.5% compared with 1978.

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

Key figures (1978)

United States of AmericaJapan
Population224.3 million116.1 million
Aged 0–1423.5%23.8%
Aged 15–6465.8%67.7%
Aged 65+10.7%8.5%
Median age29.4 yrs31.4 yrs
Old-age dependency16.212.5
Total fertility rate1.801.79
Life expectancy73.4 yrs75.7 yrs
Population growth+0.94%+0.84%
Net migration (per year)+556,521-47,996
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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