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Viet Nam vs Japan: population pyramids in 1978

1978Swap

Viet NamJapan

2%1.5%1%0.5%0%0.5%1%1.5%2%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.

Viet Nam and Japan compared

In 1978, Viet Nam has a population of 49.6 million and Japan 116.1 million; Japan is about 2.3 times the size of Viet Nam.

The share aged 65 and over is 5.3% in Viet Nam and 8.5% in Japan, 3.2 points higher in Japan. The median age is 19.0 years in Viet Nam and 31.4 years in Japan.

The total fertility rate is 5.10 in Viet Nam and 1.79 in Japan, so only Japan is below the replacement level of about 2.1. Life expectancy at birth is 64.5 years in Viet Nam and 75.7 years in Japan.

By 2050, the population of Viet Nam is projected to grow by 121.7% and that of Japan to shrink by 9.5% compared with 1978.

GDP per person is $5,066 in Viet Nam (2025) and $36K in Japan (2025).

Key figures (1978)

Viet NamJapan
Population49.6 million116.1 million
Aged 0–1440.8%23.8%
Aged 15–6454.0%67.7%
Aged 65+5.3%8.5%
Median age19.0 yrs31.4 yrs
Old-age dependency9.712.5
Total fertility rate5.101.79
Life expectancy64.5 yrs75.7 yrs
Population growth+2.55%+0.84%
Net migration (per year)-6,592-47,996
GDP$515B (2025)$4.44T (2025)
GDP per person$5,066 (2025)$36K (2025)
Unemployment1.5% (2025)2.5% (2025)

Economic figures are the latest year published for each country.

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