Japan Population Clock

Japan records about 1,925 births and 4,492 deaths a day — more deaths than births. Natural change is therefore negative, at roughly 2,567 fewer people per day, or about 937,597 a year before migration.

Net migration runs at about 140,579 over the reported period, with more people arriving than leaving. That is equivalent to about 15% of its natural change.

If the current rate held indefinitely, Japan would take roughly 141 years to halve in size — a projection of today's rate, not a forecast.

Over the 9 years from 2016 to 2025, the population fell from 127.1 million to 123.4 million — a loss of 3.71 million, or 2.9%.

With about 342 people per square kilometre, Japan is densely populated, roughly 5.5× the world average of 62. That ranks 15th of the 115 countries here. Its closest comparisons on density are Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

Japan covers about 364,569 km² of land, which is what turns a population of 123.4 million into that density figure.

About 92.3% of people live in urban areas, making Japan almost entirely urban, above the world average of 57.8%. That works out to roughly 113.9 million town and city dwellers and 9.50 million living rurally.

Japan has one of the world’s oldest populations: about 11.2% are under 15 and 30.0% are 65 or older. Over-65s now outnumber under-15s, which is the classic marker of a population that has finished its demographic transition.

The total fertility rate is about 1.15 births per woman, below the ~2.1 replacement level, so without net immigration the population would eventually decline. The world figure is about 2.19.

Life expectancy at birth is about 84.0 years, roughly 10.6 years above the global average of 73.5.