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 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.; ;

Population ages 40-44, female (% of female population) in Japan was reported at 5.828 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Japan - Population ages 40-44, female (% of female population) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

Approximately 36.5 million people in Japan were estimated to be within the age group 65 and over in 2024. This number was projected to increase until 2040 and then decline to about 20.1 million by 2120.

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.

Japan Population Census: Female: Age 40 to 44 Years data was reported at 4,818,200.000 Person in 2015. This records an increase from the previous number of 4,341,490.000 Person for 2010. Japan Population Census: Female: Age 40 to 44 Years data is updated yearly, averaging 3,479,566.000 Person from Dec 1920 (Median) to 2015, with 20 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 5,308,305.000 Person in 1990 and a record low of 1,597,541.000 Person in 1925. Japan Population Census: Female: Age 40 to 44 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 40-44, male (% of male population) in Japan was reported at 6.246 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Japan - Population ages 40-44, male (% of male population) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

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.

Japan Population: As of 1st Oct: 40 to 44 Years data was reported at 9,443.000 Person th in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 9,713.000 Person th for 2016. Japan Population: As of 1st Oct: 40 to 44 Years data is updated yearly, averaging 8,344.000 Person th from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 11,257.000 Person th in 1991 and a record low of 5,019.000 Person th in 1960. Japan Population: As of 1st Oct: 40 to 44 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.

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.

Japan Population: Male: 40 to 44 Year data was reported at 4,650.000 Person th in Jul 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 4,660.000 Person th for Jun 2018. Japan Population: Male: 40 to 44 Year data is updated monthly, averaging 4,236.000 Person th from Jan 1999 (Median) to Jul 2018, with 235 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 4,970.000 Person th in Jan 2015 and a record low of 3,880.000 Person th in May 2001. Japan Population: Male: 40 to 44 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.

The median age of the population in Japan has steadily been increasing since 1950 and is projected to be around 47.7 years old in 2020. As of 2021, the median age of Japan is the second highest in the world, behind the Principality of Monaco. The elderly in Japan An improved quality of life and regular health checks are just two reasons why Japan has one of the highest life expectancies in the world. The life expectancy from birth in Japan improved significantly after World War II, rising 20 years in the decade between 1945 and 1955. As life expectancy continues to increase, Japan expects difficulties caring for the older generation in the future. Shortages in the service sector are already a major concern, with demand for nurses and care workers increasing. Fertility and birth rates The fertility rate among Japan’s population has been around 1.4 children per woman since 2010. Apart from a small baby boom in the early seventies, the crude birth rate of Japan has been declining since 1950 and is expected to be as low as 7.5 births per thousand people in 2020. With falling birth rates and such a large share of its inhabitants reaching their later years, Japan’s total population is expected to continue declining.

Historical chart and dataset showing total population for Japan by year from 1950 to 2025.

Japan Population Census: Age 40 to 44 Years data was reported at 9,732,218.000 Person in 2015. This records an increase from the previous number of 8,741,865.000 Person for 2010. Japan Population Census: Age 40 to 44 Years data is updated yearly, averaging 6,699,324.500 Person from Dec 1920 (Median) to 2015, with 20 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 10,658,290.000 Person in 1990 and a record low of 3,221,765.000 Person in 1925. Japan Population Census: Age 40 to 44 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.

In 2023, the total population in Japan slightly decreased to just below 125 million people compared to the previous year, with the female population reaching around 63.9 million, as compared to 60.5 million men. The oldest population in the world  Japanese society is facing severe demographic problems such as decreasing birthrates, remaining under one million births annually recently, and a thereby aging population. The country’s average age lies at around 48 years, making its population the oldest in the world. Elderly people aged 65 years and older accounted for about 29 percent of the population in 2023. According to a forecast, the age group 65 years and older would make up approximately 39 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 seven million Japanese require long-term care, leading to national benefit expenses of over 14 trillion yen annually, including in-home and community-based services.

Historical chart and dataset showing Japan population growth rate by year from 1961 to 2023.

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

Japan JP: Population: Male: Ages 40-44: % of Male Population data was reported at 7.874 % in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 8.107 % for 2016. Japan JP: Population: Male: Ages 40-44: % of Male Population data is updated yearly, averaging 7.267 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 8.829 % in 1990 and a record low of 4.916 % in 1960. Japan JP: Population: Male: Ages 40-44: % of Male 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: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Male population between the ages 40 to 44 as a percentage of the total male population.; ; World Bank staff estimates based on age/sex distributions of United Nations Population Division's World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision.; ;

According to a survey conducted in November 2023, most women in Japan were within the normal range of the body mass index (BMI). Around 69.7 percent of female respondents in the age group 30 to 39 years were of normal weight in terms of BMI, while about 12.4 percent were overweight. Weights control in Japan The majority of deaths in recent Japanese society are caused by lifestyle diseases. In order to reduce the number of deaths from lifestyle diseases, the Japanese government implemented a new annual metabolic syndrome examination in 2008 for citizens aged over 40 years old. People who are classified as having metabolic syndrome or pre-metabolic syndrome at the examination receive advice and support from a nutritionist to improve their diet and lifestyle habits. The government also introduced a new license Tokuho in 1991 for food and beverages that contain ingredients that can have a positive influence on the physiological function. Major companies in Japan currently produce a lot of food and drink products that can meet the requirement of the license. Despite those measures, the share of people in Japan that are classified as overweight has not fluctuated much in recent years. As of 2019, close to 32 percent of Japanese men were classified as obese. Underweight among young women In contrast to the people categorized as overweight, young female Japanese are facing an underweight problem. According to the survey, approximately 24 percent of women in their twenties and 18.3 percent of girls below 20 years old were reported as being underweight. The Japanese health ministry pointed out that the dissemination of beauty standards in society and media, alongside the flooded information about diet methods, are facilitating young Japanese women’s desire to be “thin.” To reduce the risk of health disorders, such as amenorrhea and osteoporosis among women, the government has set the goal of less than 15 percent of the female population under 30 years old to be underweight by 2032.

Japan Population: Aomori-ken: 40 to 44 Years data was reported at 84.000 Person th in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 86.000 Person th for 2016. Japan Population: Aomori-ken: 40 to 44 Years data is updated yearly, averaging 88.000 Person th from Dec 1996 (Median) to 2017, with 22 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 111.000 Person th in 1996 and a record low of 84.000 Person th in 2017. Japan Population: Aomori-ken: 40 to 44 Years data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Statistical Bureau. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Japan – Table JP.G003: Population: Annual: By Prefecture.