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.

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.

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.

In 2023, people aged 65 years and older in Japan accounted for approximately **** percent of the total Japanese population. Due to a low birth rate and high longevity, people aged 65 years and older were estimated to make up almost ** percent of the population in Japan by 2070.

As of 2020, about ** percent of the population in Japan was concentrated in the Greater Tokyo Area. The ***** metropolitan areas Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya, accounted for around ** percent of the Japanese population.

Japan: Population density, people per square km: The latest value from 2021 is 345 people per square km, a decline from 346 people per square km in 2020. In comparison, the world average is 456 people per square km, based on data from 196 countries. Historically, the average for Japan from 1961 to 2021 is 325 people per square km. The minimum value, 256 people per square km, was reached in 1961 while the maximum of 351 people per square km was recorded in 2004.

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 (people per sq. km of land area) in Japan was reported at 343 sq. Km in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Japan - Population density (people per sq. km) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on September of 2025.

Historical dataset showing Japan population density by year from 1961 to 2022.

Japan is one of the highly urbanized and severely aging society. In an aging society, chronic disease and disability are prevalent, and the population is sensitive to environmental issues and climate change. To detect the impacts of population changes, formulate the population and public health policies, and assist environmental applications, the high-resolution and accurate gridded population dataset is strongly desired. To provide basic data for these studies, we create an open access annual dataset containing the total, male, and female population counts in each grid at a 500-m resolution from 2001 to 2020. The yearly population dataset is based on the 4th-level mesh data from the Statistics Bureau of Japan to make it easy to use. The dataset is provided here alongside the descriptions of the data and methods used in the fitting, cross-validation, and prediction processes.

The total population data are stored in 20 attributes, named the “X0000” style. The “0000” of “X0000” represents the four-digit year. For example, the attribute “X2001” reports the total 2001 population in the mesh. The dataset also preserves the direct output from the random forest and the logarithms of the total population. The attributes of the logarithms of the total population in each year are named in “X0000_log” style. The “0000” of “X0000_log” also stands for the four-digit year. The attributes of the female population, the logarithm of the female population, the male population, and the logarithm of the male population are written as “X0000_fema”, “X0000_fe_l”, “X0000_male”, and “X0000_ma_l”, respectively.

The accuracy of the models constructed to predict the total, male, and female populations are 92.09%, 91.92%, and 92.16%, respectively.

Japan JP: Population Density: People per Square Km data was reported at 347.778 Person/sq km in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 348.350 Person/sq km for 2016. Japan JP: Population Density: People per Square Km data is updated yearly, averaging 337.674 Person/sq km from Dec 1961 (Median) to 2017, with 57 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 351.339 Person/sq km in 2008 and a record low of 258.912 Person/sq km in 1961. Japan JP: Population Density: People per Square Km data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Japan – Table JP.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Population density is midyear population divided by land area in square kilometers. Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship--except for refugees not permanently settled in the country of asylum, who are generally considered part of the population of their country of origin. Land area is a country's total area, excluding area under inland water bodies, national claims to continental shelf, and exclusive economic zones. In most cases the definition of inland water bodies includes major rivers and lakes.; ; Food and Agriculture Organization and World Bank population estimates.; Weighted average;

Adults with 100 thousand to *********** U.S. dollars in wealth made up around ** percent of the Japanese population in 2020, while the second largest share of people were worth between 10,000 and 100,000 dollars. Together, these groups accounted for approximately ** percent of the population.

Wealth versus income

Wealth, as opposed to income, measures the ownership of assets in a society. Together with GDP, GDP per capita, and household disposable income, it helps to understand the economic well-being of households. Furthermore, the distribution of wealth gives an indication about the degree of equality in a society. Illustrated by its wealth distribution, Japan can be considered relatively equal compared to other countries.

Egalitarian corporate culture

In recent years, wealth inequality has become the subject of increasing focus among policymakers, academics and the general public. While several factors have contributed to the high equality in the country, it is safe to say that the egalitarian ethic in Japanese corporate culture is one of these reasons. This is reflected, for example, in the income structure; Japanese CEOs earn remarkably less than their counterparts in the United Kingdom or the United States. In a ranking of the average income of business leaders worldwide by country, Japan did not even make it into the list of the top ten countries.

Japan JP: Population: as % of Total: Aged 0-14 data was reported at 12.887 % in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 12.936 % for 2016. Japan JP: Population: as % of Total: Aged 0-14 data is updated yearly, averaging 19.437 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 30.264 % in 1960 and a record low of 12.887 % in 2017. Japan JP: Population: as % of Total: Aged 0-14 data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Japan – Table JP.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Population between the ages 0 to 14 as a percentage of the total population. Population is based on the de facto definition of population.; ; World Bank staff estimates based on age/sex distributions of United Nations Population Division's World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision.; Weighted average;

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 2023, about *** percent of the population in Japan were foreign nationals, up from about *** percent in 2014. The total number of foreign residents in the same year amounted to approximately *** million people.

WorldPop produces different types of gridded population count datasets, depending on the methods used and end application. Please make sure you have read our Mapping Populations overview page before choosing and downloading a dataset.

Datasets are available to download in Geotiff and ASCII XYZ format at a resolution of 30 arc-seconds (approximately 1km at the equator)

-Unconstrained individual countries 2000-2020: Population density datasets for all countries of the World for each year 2000-2020 – derived from the corresponding Unconstrained individual countries 2000-2020 population count datasets by dividing the number of people in each pixel by the pixel surface area. These are produced using the unconstrained top-down modelling method.
-Unconstrained individual countries 2000-2020 UN adjusted: Population density datasets for all countries of the World for each year 2000-2020 – derived from the corresponding Unconstrained individual countries 2000-2020 population UN adjusted count datasets by dividing the number of people in each pixel, adjusted to match the country total from the official United Nations population estimates (UN 2019), by the pixel surface area. These are produced using the unconstrained top-down modelling method.

Data for earlier dates is available directly from WorldPop.

WorldPop (www.worldpop.org - School of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Southampton; Department of Geography and Geosciences, University of Louisville; Departement de Geographie, Universite de Namur) and Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), Columbia University (2018). Global High Resolution Population Denominators Project - Funded by The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (OPP1134076). https://dx.doi.org/10.5258/SOTON/WP00674

Population density of Japan slipped by 0.44% from 344.8 people per sq. km in 2021 to 343.3 people per sq. km in 2022. Since the 0.16% downward trend in 2012, population density declined by 1.96% in 2022. Population density is midyear population divided by land area in square kilometers.

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).

In 2020, the population of Tokyo Metropolis amounted to over ***** inhabitants per square kilometer. The number increased from approximately ***** inhabitants per square kilometer in 2000.

Japan JP: Population: Female: Ages 40-44: % of Female Population data was reported at 7.242 % in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 7.453 % for 2016. Japan JP: Population: Female: Ages 40-44: % of Female Population data is updated yearly, averaging 7.039 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 8.384 % in 1990 and a record low of 5.772 % in 1960. Japan JP: Population: Female: Ages 40-44: % of Female Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Japan – Table JP.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Female population between the ages 40 to 44 as a percentage of the total female population.; ; World Bank staff estimates based on age/sex distributions of United Nations Population Division's World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision.; ;