Historical population data in Japan

Japan: Historical population data was 123.22 million Persons in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
123.22 million Persons
Change on year
down 0.5%
World rank
9th
of 43 countries
All-time high
128.08 million Persons
in 2008
All-time low
84.11 million Persons
in 1950
Years of data
76
1950–2025

Historical population data in Japan, 1950–2025

050.0M100.0M150.0M195019872025

Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Persons.

Analysis

Japan recorded 123.22 million Persons for historical population data in 2025.

The figure is down 0.5% on the previous year and down 3.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, historical population data in Japan peaked at 128.08 million Persons in 2008 and was at its lowest, 84.11 million Persons, in 1950.

Japan ranks 9th of 43 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 76 years of available data.

Historical population data in Japan, year by year

Annual values for Historical population data in Japan, 1950 to 2025.
Year Persons Change
1950 84.11 million Persons —
1951 85.47 million Persons +1.6%
1952 86.77 million Persons +1.5%
1953 87.96 million Persons +1.4%
1954 89.03 million Persons +1.2%
1955 90.08 million Persons +1.2%
1956 90.99 million Persons +1.0%
1957 91.76 million Persons +0.8%
1958 92.62 million Persons +0.9%
1959 93.51 million Persons +1.0%
1960 94.30 million Persons +0.8%
1961 95.18 million Persons +0.9%
1962 96.09 million Persons +1.0%
1963 97.08 million Persons +1.0%
1964 98.11 million Persons +1.1%
1965 99.21 million Persons +1.1%
1966 99.98 million Persons +0.8%
1967 101.14 million Persons +1.2%
1968 102.29 million Persons +1.1%
1969 103.49 million Persons +1.2%
1970 104.67 million Persons +1.1%
1971 106.10 million Persons +1.4%
1972 107.59 million Persons +1.4%
1973 109.10 million Persons +1.4%
1974 110.57 million Persons +1.3%
1975 111.94 million Persons +1.2%
1976 113.09 million Persons +1.0%
1977 114.17 million Persons +0.9%
1978 115.19 million Persons +0.9%
1979 116.16 million Persons +0.8%
1980 117.06 million Persons +0.8%
1981 117.90 million Persons +0.7%
1982 118.73 million Persons +0.7%
1983 119.54 million Persons +0.7%
1984 120.31 million Persons +0.6%
1985 121.05 million Persons +0.6%
1986 121.66 million Persons +0.5%
1987 122.24 million Persons +0.5%
1988 122.75 million Persons +0.4%
1989 123.20 million Persons +0.4%
1990 123.61 million Persons +0.3%
1991 124.10 million Persons +0.4%
1992 124.57 million Persons +0.4%
1993 124.94 million Persons +0.3%
1994 125.27 million Persons +0.3%
1995 125.57 million Persons +0.2%
1996 125.86 million Persons +0.2%
1997 126.17 million Persons +0.2%
1998 126.49 million Persons +0.3%
1999 126.69 million Persons +0.2%
2000 126.93 million Persons +0.2%
2001 127.29 million Persons +0.3%
2002 127.44 million Persons +0.1%
2003 127.62 million Persons +0.1%
2004 127.69 million Persons +0.1%
2005 127.77 million Persons +0.1%
2006 127.90 million Persons +0.1%
2007 128.03 million Persons +0.1%
2008 128.08 million Persons +0.0%
2009 128.03 million Persons -0.0%
2010 128.06 million Persons +0.0%
2011 127.83 million Persons -0.2%
2012 127.59 million Persons -0.2%
2013 127.41 million Persons -0.1%
2014 127.24 million Persons -0.1%
2015 127.09 million Persons -0.1%
2016 127.04 million Persons -0.0%
2017 126.92 million Persons -0.1%
2018 126.75 million Persons -0.1%
2019 126.56 million Persons -0.2%
2020 126.15 million Persons -0.3%
2021 125.50 million Persons -0.5%
2022 124.95 million Persons -0.4%
2023 124.35 million Persons -0.5%
2024 123.80 million Persons -0.4%
2025 123.22 million Persons -0.5%

Japan compared with similar countries

  • Japan's 123.22 million Persons is above the median for high income countries, which is 10.48 million Persons, 11.8× the median. (34 countries reporting)
  • Japan's 123.22 million Persons is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 75.42 million Persons, 1.6× the median. (6 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 89.23 million Persons 84.11 million Persons 93.51 million Persons 10
1960s 98.69 million Persons 94.30 million Persons 103.49 million Persons 10
1970s 110.86 million Persons 104.67 million Persons 116.16 million Persons 10
1980s 120.44 million Persons 117.06 million Persons 123.20 million Persons 10
1990s 125.33 million Persons 123.61 million Persons 126.69 million Persons 10
2000s 127.68 million Persons 126.93 million Persons 128.08 million Persons 10
2010s 127.25 million Persons 126.56 million Persons 128.06 million Persons 10
2020s 124.66 million Persons 123.22 million Persons 126.15 million Persons 6

Countries ranked near Japan

  1. 6 Lithuania 2.89 million Persons compare
  2. 6 Brazil 219.03 million Persons compare
  3. 7 Slovenia 2.13 million Persons compare
  4. 7 Russia 145.40 million Persons compare
  5. 8 Latvia 1.85 million Persons compare
  6. 8 Mexico 133.37 million Persons compare
  7. 9 Estonia 1.37 million Persons compare
  8. 10 Germany 83.52 million Persons compare
  9. 11 United Kingdom 69.50 million Persons compare
  10. 12 France 68.97 million Persons compare

See the full ranking of 56 places →

More population data for Japan

All data for Japan →

Frequently asked questions

What is historical population data in Japan?
Historical population data in Japan was 123.22 million Persons in 2025, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
What is the highest historical population data recorded in Japan?
The highest recorded value was 128.08 million Persons in 2008.
What is the lowest historical population data recorded in Japan?
The lowest recorded value was 84.11 million Persons in 1950.
How does Japan rank for historical population data?
Japan ranks 9th out of 43 countries with data for 2025.
Is historical population data rising or falling in Japan?
Over the last ten years it is down 3.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Japan data come from?
The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Historical population data. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 76 observations, free to reuse under OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Historical population data in Japan. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 07 October 2026, from https://population.statizoid.com/stat/historical-population-data/japan/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://population.statizoid.com/stat/historical-population-data/japan/">Historical population data in Japan</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Historical population data
Unit
Persons
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
56 places, 4,256 data points, 1950–2025
Last refreshed

This dataset presents annual population data from 1961 by sex and five year age groups as well as the share of children, youth, the elderly, old-age and total dependency ratios. The data is available for all member countries as well as for the EU27 and G20 countries, Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa and the World total. The data refer to mid-year estimates of the population. See country details in Historical population metadata.