The total population in Japan was estimated at 123.6 million people in 2024, according to the latest census figures and projections from Trading Economics. This dataset provides - Japan Population - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Population density per pixel at 100 metre resolution. WorldPop provides estimates of numbers of people residing in each 100x100m grid cell for every low and middle income country. Through ingegrating cencus, survey, satellite and GIS datasets in a flexible machine-learning framework, high resolution maps of population counts and densities for 2000-2020 are produced, along with accompanying metadata. DATASET: Alpha version 2010 and 2015 estimates of numbers of people per grid square, with national totals adjusted to match UN population division estimates (http://esa.un.org/wpp/) and remaining unadjusted. REGION: Africa SPATIAL RESOLUTION: 0.000833333 decimal degrees (approx 100m at the equator) PROJECTION: Geographic, WGS84 UNITS: Estimated persons per grid square MAPPING APPROACH: Land cover based, as described in: Linard, C., Gilbert, M., Snow, R.W., Noor, A.M. and Tatem, A.J., 2012, Population distribution, settlement patterns and accessibility across Africa in 2010, PLoS ONE, 7(2): e31743. FORMAT: Geotiff (zipped using 7-zip (open access tool): www.7-zip.org) FILENAMES: Example - AGO10adjv4.tif = Angola (AGO) population count map for 2010 (10) adjusted to match UN national estimates (adj), version 4 (v4). Population maps are updated to new versions when improved census or other input data become available.

Key information about Japan population

• The Japan population reached 123.7 million people in Dec 2024, compared with the previously reported figure of 124.3 million people in Dec 2023
• The data reached an all-time high of 128.1 million people in Dec 2010 and a record low of 43.4 million people in Dec 1899

• In the latest reports, Japan Unemployment Rate increased to 2.5 % in Oct 2024
• Monthly earnings of the Japan population was 1,957.4 USD in Oct 2024
• Japan Labour Force Participation Rate remained the same rate at 63.5 % in Oct 2024

In 2023, the total population in Japan slightly decreased to just below *** million people compared to the previous year, with the female population reaching around **** million, as compared to **** million men. The oldest population in the world  Japanese society is facing severe demographic problems such as decreasing birthrates, remaining under *** million births annually recently, and a thereby aging population. The country’s average age lies at around ** years, making its population the oldest in the world. Elderly people aged 65 years and older accounted for about ** percent of the population in 2023. According to a forecast, this age group would make up approximately ** percent of the Japanese population by 2070. Challenges with the demographic shift The rapid aging of the society poses significant economic and sociopolitical challenges to the country, as the workforce will continue to shrink while increasingly more elderly will receive long-term support. Currently, close to ***** million Japanese require long-term care, leading to national benefit expenses of over ** trillion yen annually, including in-home and community-based services.

In 1800, the population of Japan was just over 30 million, a figure which would grow by just two million in the first half of the 19th century. However, with the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate and the restoration of the emperor in the Meiji Restoration of 1868, Japan would begin transforming from an isolated feudal island, to a modernized empire built on Western models. The Meiji period would see a rapid rise in the population of Japan, as industrialization and advancements in healthcare lead to a significant reduction in child mortality rates, while the creation overseas colonies would lead to a strong economic boom. However, this growth would slow beginning in 1937, as Japan entered a prolonged war with the Republic of China, which later grew into a major theater of the Second World War. The war was eventually brought to Japan's home front, with the escalation of Allied air raids on Japanese urban centers from 1944 onwards (Tokyo was the most-bombed city of the Second World War). By the war's end in 1945 and the subsequent occupation of the island by the Allied military, Japan had suffered over two and a half million military fatalities, and over one million civilian deaths.

The population figures of Japan were quick to recover, as the post-war “economic miracle” would see an unprecedented expansion of the Japanese economy, and would lead to the country becoming one of the first fully industrialized nations in East Asia. As living standards rose, the population of Japan would increase from 77 million in 1945, to over 127 million by the end of the century. However, growth would begin to slow in the late 1980s, as birth rates and migration rates fell, and Japan eventually grew to have one of the oldest populations in the world. The population would peak in 2008 at just over 128 million, but has consistently fallen each year since then, as the fertility rate of the country remains below replacement level (despite government initiatives to counter this) and the country's immigrant population remains relatively stable. The population of Japan is expected to continue its decline in the coming years, and in 2020, it is estimated that approximately 126 million people inhabit the island country.

As of 2024, the total population in Japan was estimated to be approximately ********************. The projection for 2100 indicated an almost ** percent decrease in population to around **** million people.

Population ages 60-64, male (% of male population) in Japan was reported at 6.3225 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Japan - Population ages 50-64, male (% of male population) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

In 2020, the population census showed that Tokyo had the highest daytime population among Japanese prefectures, amounting to roughly ***** million. In contrast, Tottori Prefecture had the smallest daytime population, comprising approximately *** thousand people.

The 14th Population Census. In order to clarify the state of Japan’s population and households, the population census has been conducted in Japan almost every five years.More details on the "Population Census of Japan" overall including other years can be found here: https://d-infra.ier.hit-u.ac.jp/Japanese/statistical-yb/b001.html. 　　　　　The Management and Coordination Agency was established as an external organ of the Prime Minister's Office, with the Statistics Bureau in charge of implementing the Population Census also falling under the jurisdiction of the Management and Coordination Agency.

Graph and download economic data for Population, Total for Japan (POPTOTJPA647NWDB) from 1960 to 2024 about Japan and population.

The 16th Population Census. In order to clarify the state of Japan’s population and households, the population census has been conducted in Japan almost every five years.More details on the "Population Census of Japan" overall including other years can be found here: https://d-infra.ier.hit-u.ac.jp/Japanese/statistical-yb/b001.html. 　　　　　For details, see the website of the Statistics Bureau (https://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/kokusei/index.html).

The population density in Japan stood at 343.28 people in 2022. Between 1961 and 2022, the population density rose by 86.79 people, though the increase followed an uneven trajectory rather than a consistent upward trend.

The 7th Population Census, this is the first large-scale census after the war. In order to clarify the state of Japan’s population and households, the population census has been conducted in Japan almost every five years.More details on the "Population Census of Japan" overall including other years can be found here: https://d-infra.ier.hit-u.ac.jp/Japanese/statistical-yb/b001.html. 　　　　　 Implemented under the auspices of the General Headquarters of the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers. From this census onward, persons are surveyed not on the basis of where they were at the time of the census but their place of usual residence. Moreover, this was a census administered by enumerators.

The 2nd Population Census. In order to clarify the state of Japan’s population and households, the population census has been conducted in Japan almost every five years.More details on the "Population Census of Japan" overall including other years can be found here: https://d-infra.ier.hit-u.ac.jp/Japanese/statistical-yb/b001.html. 　　　　　This is the first simplified census. The census questionnaire was to be completed not by households but by individuals.

Japan Population Census: Age 15 to 19 Years data was reported at 6,008,388.000 Person in 2015. This records a decrease from the previous number of 6,063,357.000 Person for 2010. Japan Population Census: Age 15 to 19 Years data is updated yearly, averaging 7,884,538.000 Person from Dec 1920 (Median) to 2015, with 20 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 10,947,996.000 Person in 1965 and a record low of 5,419,057.000 Person in 1920. Japan Population Census: Age 15 to 19 Years data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Statistical Bureau. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Japan – Table JP.G002: Population: Annual.

Abstract

This study is an experiment designed to compare the performance of three methodologies for sampling households with migrants:

• a stratified sample using the census to sample census tracts randomly, in which each household is then listed and screened to determine whether or not it has a migrant, with the full length questionnaire then being applied in a second phase only to the households of interest;
• a snowball survey in which households are asked to provide referrals to other households with migrant members;
• an intercept point survey (or time-and-space sampling survey), in which individuals are sampled during set time periods at a prespecified set of locations where households in the target group are likely to congregate.

Researchers from the World Bank applied these methods in the context of a survey of Brazilians of Japanese descent (Nikkei), requested by the World Bank. There are approximately 1.2-1.9 million Nikkei among Brazil’s 170 million population.

The survey was designed to provide detail on the characteristics of households with and without migrants, to estimate the proportion of households receiving remittances and with migrants in Japan, and to examine the consequences of migration and remittances on the sending households.

The same questionnaire was used for the stratified random sample and snowball surveys, and a shorter version of the questionnaire was used for the intercept surveys. Researchers can directly compare answers to the same questions across survey methodologies and determine the extent to which the intercept and snowball surveys can give similar results to the more expensive census-based survey, and test for the presence of biases.

Geographic coverage

Sao Paulo and Parana states

Analysis unit

Japanese-Brazilian (Nikkei) households and individuals

The 2000 Brazilian Census was used to classify households as Nikkei or non-Nikkei. The Brazilian Census does not ask ethnicity but instead asks questions on race, country of birth and whether an individual has lived elsewhere in the last 10 years. On the basis of these questions, a household is classified as (potentially) Nikkei if it has any of the following: 1) a member born in Japan; 2) a member who is of yellow race and who has lived in Japan in the last 10 years; 3) a member who is of yellow race, who was not born in a country other than Japan (predominantly Korea, Taiwan or China) and who did not live in a foreign country other than Japan in the last 10 years.

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

1) Stratified random sample survey

Two states with the largest Nikkei population - Sao Paulo and Parana - were chosen for the study.

The sampling process consisted of three stages. First, a stratified random sample of 75 census tracts was selected based on 2000 Brazilian census. Second, interviewers carried out a door-to-door listing within each census tract to determine which households had a Nikkei member. Third, the survey questionnaire was then administered to households that were identified as Nikkei. A door-to-door listing exercise of the 75 census tracts was then carried out between October 13th, 2006, and October 29th, 2006. The fieldwork began on November 19, 2006, and all dwellings were visited at least once by December 22, 2006. The second wave of surveying took place from January 18th, 2007, to February 2nd, 2007, which was intended to increase the number of households responding.

2) Intercept survey

The intercept survey was designed to carry out interviews at a range of locations that were frequented by the Nikkei population. It was originally designed to be done in Sao Paulo city only, but a second intercept point survey was later carried out in Curitiba, Parana. Intercept survey took place between December 9th, 2006, and December 20th, 2006, whereas the Curitiba intercept survey took place between March 3rd and March 12th, 2007.

Consultations with Nikkei community organizations, local researchers and officers of the bank Sudameris, which provides remittance services to this community, were used to select a broad range of locations. Interviewers were assigned to visit each location during prespecified blocks of time. Two fieldworkers were assigned to each location. One fieldworker carried out the interviews, while the other carried out a count of the number of people with Nikkei appearance who appeared to be 18 years old or older who passed by each location. For the fixed places, this count was made throughout the prespecified time block. For example, between 2.30 p.m. and 3.30 p.m. at the sports club, the interviewer counted 57 adult Nikkeis. Refusal rates were carefully recorded, along with the sex and approximate age of the person refusing.

In all, 516 intercept interviews were collected.

3) Snowball sampling survey

The questionnaire that was used was the same as used for the stratified random sample. The plan was to begin with a seed list of 75 households, and to aim to reach a total sample of 300 households through referrals from the initial seed households. Each household surveyed was asked to supply the names of three contacts: (a) a Nikkei household with a member currently in Japan; (b) a Nikkei household with a member who has returned from Japan; (c) a Nikkei household without members in Japan and where individuals had not returned from Japan.

The snowball survey took place from December 5th to 20th, 2006. The second phase of the snowballing survey ran from January 22nd, 2007, to March 23rd, 2007. More associations were contacted to provide additional seed names (69 more names were obtained) and, as with the stratified sample, an adaptation of the intercept survey was used when individuals refused to answer the longer questionnaire. A decision was made to continue the snowball process until a target sample size of 100 had been achieved.

The final sample consists of 60 households who came as seed households from Japanese associations, and 40 households who were chain referrals. The longest chain achieved was three links.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

1) Stratified sampling and snowball survey questionnaire

This questionnaire has 36 pages with over 1,000 variables, taking over an hour to complete.

If subjects refused to answer the questionnaire, interviewers would leave a much shorter version of the questionnaire to be completed by the household by themselves, and later picked up. This shorter questionnaire was the same as used in the intercept point survey, taking seven minutes on average. The intention with the shorter survey was to provide some data on households that would not answer the full survey because of time constraints, or because respondents were reluctant to have an interviewer in their house.

2) Intercept questionnaire

The questionnaire is four pages in length, consisting of 62 questions and taking a mean time of seven minutes to answer. Respondents had to be 18 years old or older to be interviewed.

Response rate

1) Stratified random sampling 403 out of the 710 Nikkei households were surveyed, an interview rate of 57%. The refusal rate was 25%, whereas the remaining households were either absent on three attempts or were not surveyed because building managers refused permission to enter the apartment buildings. Refusal rates were higher in Sao Paulo than in Parana, reflecting greater concerns about crime and a busier urban environment.

2) Intercept Interviews 516 intercept interviews were collected, along with 325 refusals. The average refusal rate is 39%, with location-specific refusal rates ranging from only 3% at the food festival to almost 66% at one of the two grocery stores.

Japan Population: 35 to 39 Year data was reported at 7,680.000 Person th in Nov 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 7,690.000 Person th for Oct 2018. Japan Population: 35 to 39 Year data is updated monthly, averaging 8,670.000 Person th from Jan 1999 (Median) to Nov 2018, with 239 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 9,864.000 Person th in Nov 2010 and a record low of 7,680.000 Person th in Nov 2018. Japan Population: 35 to 39 Year data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Statistical Bureau. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Japan – Table JP.G001: Population.

Population growth (annual %) in Japan was reported at --0.43565 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Japan - Population growth (annual %) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

Graph and download economic data for Population Growth for Japan (SPPOPGROWJPN) from 1961 to 2024 about Japan, population, and rate.

The 6th Population Census, this is an extraordinary census conducted just after the end of the war. In order to clarify the state of Japan’s population and households, the population census has been conducted in Japan almost every five years.More details on the "Population Census of Japan" overall including other years can be found here: https://d-infra.ier.hit-u.ac.jp/Japanese/statistical-yb/b001.html. 　　　　　Following the enactment of the Statistics Act, the Population Census was implemented as the "Designated Statistics No. 1" based on the Statistics Act. The census examined, for example, whether people had returned to Japan after the war. Due to the war, no Population Census was conducted in 1945.