Japan People - 2024

Population

123,719,238 (2023 est.)

Nationality

noun: Japanese (singular and plural)

adjective: Japanese

Ethnic groups

Japanese 97.5%, Chinese 0.6%, Vietnam 0.4%, South Korean 0.3%, other 1.2% (includes Filipino, Brazilian, Nepalese, Indonesian, American, and Taiwanese) (2022 est.)

note: data represent population by nationality; up to 230,000 Brazilians of Japanese origin migrated to Japan in the 1990s to work in industries; some have returned to Brazil

Languages

Japanese

major-language sample(s):
必要不可欠な基本情報の源、ワールド・ファクトブック(Japanese)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Japanese audio sample:

Religions

Shintoism 48.6%, Buddhism 46.4%, Christianity 1.1%, other 4% (2021 est.)

note: total adherents among persons claiming a religious affiliation

Age structure

0-14 years: 12.29% (male 7,835,474/female 7,370,449)

15-64 years: 58.49% (male 36,378,186/female 35,981,176)

65 years and over: 29.22% (2023 est.) (male 15,909,031/female 20,244,922)

2023 population pyramid:

Dependency ratios

total dependency ratio: 71.1

youth dependency ratio: 20.1

elderly dependency ratio: 51

potential support ratio: 2 (2021 est.)

Median age

total: 49.5 years (2023 est.)

male: 48 years

female: 50.9 years

Population growth rate

-0.41% (2023 est.)

Birth rate

6.9 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Death rate

11.7 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Net migration rate

0.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Population distribution

all primary and secondary regions of high population density lie on the coast; one-third of the population resides in and around Tokyo on the central plain (Kanto Plain)

Urbanization

urban population: 92% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: -0.25% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas - population

37.194 million TOKYO (capital), 19.013 million Osaka, 9.569 million Nagoya, 5.490 million Kitakyushu-Fukuoka, 2.937 million Shizuoka-Hamamatsu, 2.666 million Sapporo (2023)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female

total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

Mother's mean age at first birth

30.7 years (2018 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio

4 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 1.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)

male: 2 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 1.8 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 85 years (2023 est.)

male: 82.1 years

female: 88.1 years

Total fertility rate

1.39 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Gross reproduction rate

0.68 (2023 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

39.8% (2015)

note: percent of women aged 20-49

Drinking water source

improved: urban: N/A

rural: N/A

total: 99.1% of population

unimproved: urban: N/A

rural: N/A

total: 0.1% of population (2020 est.)

Current health expenditure

10.9% of GDP (2020)

Physicians density

2.48 physicians/1,000 population (2018)

Hospital bed density

13 beds/1,000 population (2018)

Sanitation facility access

improved: urban: N/A

rural: N/A

total: 99.9% of population

unimproved: urban: N/A

rural: N/A

total: 0.1% of population (2020 est.)

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

4.3% (2016)

Alcohol consumption per capita

total: 8.36 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer: 1.35 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine: 0.29 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits: 1.63 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols: 5.09 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Tobacco use

total: 20.1% (2020 est.)

male: 30.1% (2020 est.)

female: 10% (2020 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

N/A

Currently married women (ages 15-49)

46.8% (2023 est.)

Education expenditures

3.4% of GDP (2020 est.)

Literacy

total population: NA

male: NA

female: NA

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 15 years

male: 15 years

female: 15 years (2019)