The share of people aged 65 years and older in Japan stood at ***** percent in 2023. In a steady upward trend, the share rose by ***** percentage points from 1960.

Over the last decade, Japan’s population has aged more and more, to the point where more than a quarter of Japanese were 65 years and older in 2022. Population growth has stopped and even reversed, since it’s been in the red for several years now.

It’s getting old

With almost 30 percent of its population being elderly inhabitants, Japan is considered the “oldest” country in the world today. Japan boasts a high life expectancy, in fact, the Japanese tend to live longer than the average human worldwide. The increase of the aging population is accompanied by a decrease of the total population caused by a sinking birth rate. Japan’s fertility rate has been below the replacement rate for many decades now, mostly due to economic uncertainty and thus a decreasing number of marriages.

Are the Japanese invincible?

There is no real mystery surrounding the ripe old age of so many Japanese. Their high average age is very likely due to high healthcare standards, nutrition, and an overall high standard of living – all of which could be adopted by other industrial nations as well. But with high age comes less capacity, and Japan’s future enemy might not be an early death, but rather a struggling social network.

Japan Population: as of 1st Oct: Female: 60 to 64 Years data was reported at 3,958.000 Person th in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 4,141.000 Person th for 2016. Japan Population: as of 1st Oct: Female: 60 to 64 Years data is updated yearly, averaging 4,275.000 Person th from Dec 1995 (Median) to 2017, with 23 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 5,414.000 Person th in 2011 and a record low of 3,863.000 Person th in 1995. Japan Population: as of 1st Oct: Female: 60 to 64 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.

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 September of 2025.

Japan Population Census: Age 60 to 64 Years data was reported at 8,455,010.000 Person in 2015. This records a decrease from the previous number of 10,037,249.000 Person for 2010. Japan Population Census: Age 60 to 64 Years data is updated yearly, averaging 3,560,373.500 Person from Dec 1920 (Median) to 2015, with 20 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 10,037,249.000 Person in 2010 and a record low of 1,568,341.000 Person in 1925. Japan Population Census: Age 60 to 64 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.

Japan Population: 60 to 64 Year data was reported at 7,590.000 Person th in Nov 2018. This stayed constant from the previous number of 7,590.000 Person th for Oct 2018. Japan Population: 60 to 64 Year data is updated monthly, averaging 8,430.000 Person th from Jan 1999 (Median) to Nov 2018, with 239 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 10,651.000 Person th in Sep 2011 and a record low of 7,590.000 Person th in Nov 2018. Japan Population: 60 to 64 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.

This statistic compares the share of populations in China, Japan and the United States that is expected to be over 60 years of age by 2050. The Japanese population estimated to age the fastest with about ** percent of the populace expected to be over ** by 2050.

Population ages 60-64, female (% of female population) in Japan was reported at 5.9455 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Japan - Population ages 50-64, female (% of female population) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on September of 2025.

Japan Population: Male: 60 to 64 Year data was reported at 3,760.000 Person th in Jul 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 3,770.000 Person th for Jun 2018. Japan Population: Male: 60 to 64 Year data is updated monthly, averaging 4,114.000 Person th from Jan 1999 (Median) to Jul 2018, with 235 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 5,228.000 Person th in Sep 2011 and a record low of 3,690.000 Person th in Oct 1999. Japan Population: Male: 60 to 64 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.

According to a projection made in 2023, it was forecast that the number of people aged 65 years or older in Japan would increase from about **** million in 2024 to around ** million people by 2033. By contrast, the number of children, as well as the working-age population, was forecast to shrink in the same period.

In 2024, Monaco was the country with the highest percentage of the total population that was over the age of 65, with ** percent. Japan had the second highest with ** percent, while Portugal and Bulgaria followed in third with ***percent.

Japan Population: Female: 60 to 64 Year data was reported at 3,870.000 Person th in Jul 2018. This stayed constant from the previous number of 3,870.000 Person th for Jun 2018. Japan Population: Female: 60 to 64 Year data is updated monthly, averaging 4,343.000 Person th from Jan 1999 (Median) to Jul 2018, with 235 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 5,424.000 Person th in Sep 2011 and a record low of 3,870.000 Person th in Jul 2018. Japan Population: Female: 60 to 64 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.

Time series data for the statistic Cause of death, by injury, ages 60+, male (% of male population ages 60+) and country Japan. Indicator Definition:Number of male deaths ages 60+ due to injury divided by number of all male deaths ages 60+, expressed by percentage. Injury includes unintentional and intentional injuries.

Total population and land area of eight Japanese regions.

The world's most accurate population datasets. Seven maps/datasets for the distribution of various populations in Japan: (1) Overall population density (2) Women (3) Men (4) Children (ages 0-5) (5) Youth (ages 15-24) (6) Elderly (ages 60+) (7) Women of reproductive age (ages 15-49).

A panel data set for use in cross-cultural analyses of aging, health, and well-being between the U.S. and Japan. The questionnaires were designed to be partially comparable to many surveys of the aged, including Americans'' Changing Lives; 1984 National Health Interview Survey Supplement on Aging; Health and Retirement Study (HRS), and Well-Being Among the Aged: Personal Control and Self-Esteem (WBA). NSJE questionnaire topics include: * Demographics (age, sex, marital status, education, employment) * Social Integration (interpersonal contacts, social supports) * Health Limitations on daily life and activities * Health Conditions * Health Status (ratings of present health) * Level of physical activity * Subjective Well-Being and Mental Health Status (life satisfaction, morale), * Psychological Indicators (life events, locus of control, self-esteem) * Financial situation (financial status) * Memory (measures of cognitive functioning) * Interviewer observations (assessments of respondents) The NSJE was based on a national sample of 2,200 noninstitutionalized elderly aged 60+ in Japan. This cohort has been interviewed once every 3 years since 1987. To ensure that the data are representative of the 60+ population, the samples in 1990 and 1996 were refreshed to add individuals aged 60-62. In 1999, a new cohort of Japanese adults aged 70+ was added to the surviving members of previous cohorts to form a database of 3,990 respondents 63+, of which some 3,000 were 70+. Currently a 6-wave longitudinal database (1987, 1990, 1993, 1996, 1999, & 2002) is in place; wave 7 began in 2006. Data Availability: Data from the first three waves of the National Survey of the Japanese Elderly are currently in the public domain and can be obtained from ICPSR. Additional data are being prepared for future public release. * Dates of Study: 1987-2006 * Study Features: Longitudinal, International * Sample Size: ** 1987: 2,200 ** 1990: 2,780 ** 1993: 2,780 ** 1996: ** 1999: 3,990 ** 2002: ** 2006: Links: * 1987 (ICPSR): http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/studies/06842 * 1990 (ICPSR): http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/studies/03407 * 1993 (ICPSR): http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/studies/04145 * 1996 (ICPSR): http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/studies/26621

Male: Total, Male: 0-4 years old, Male: 5-9 years old, Male: 10-14 years old, Male: 15-19 years old, Male: 20-24 years old, Male: 25-29 years old, Male: 30-34 years old, Male: 35-39 years old, Male: 40-44 years old, Male: 45-49 years old, Male: 50-54 years old, Male: 55-59 years old, Male: 60 and over

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.

Figure e1-2

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.