Japan: population and ages

In mid-1950 there were 86.4 million people, so the population is now 1.4 times as large.

The UN projects 746,000 births and 1.56 million deaths in 2026, 817,000 more deaths than births.

Deaths have outnumbered births every year since 2005.

More people move in than leave: net migration in 2026 is projected at plus 129,000.

The median age is 50.2, which is 19.1 years above the world’s 31.1.

11% of the people are under 15 and 30% are 65 or older (world: 24% and 11%).

People aged 65 and over have outnumbered children under 15 since 1997.

Women have 1.2 children on average at today’s rates (world: 2.2), against 3.6 in 1950.

Life expectancy at birth is 85.1 years, above the world’s 73.8. In 1950 it was 59.3.

For mid-2050 the UN projects 105 million people, 14% fewer than now, with a median age of 52.8.

By the death rates of 2023, life expectancy at birth was 84.7 years. People who had reached 65 could expect 24.9 more years for women and 20.0 for men.

On 1 January 2026, there are 51.2 people aged 65 or more for every 100 aged 15 to 64. For 2050, the UN projects 72.9.

For 2100 the UN projects a population of 76.8 million, with a 95 percent prediction interval of 47.8 million to 113 million.

Life expectancy at birth is a period measure. It sums up the death rates of one year and is not a forecast of how long the babies born that year will live.

In mid-2024, 3.41 million international migrants lived here, 2.8% of the population.

In mid-2024, 1.01 million people from here lived in other countries.