Population aged 65 years or older in Japan
Japan: Population aged 65 years or older was 36,894 thousands in 2025. β² Rising
Population aged 65 years or older in Japan, 1970β2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in thousands.
Analysis
Japan recorded 36,894 thousands for population aged 65 years or older in 2025. That is the highest value across all 56 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.2% on the previous year and up 9.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, population aged 65 years or older in Japan peaked at 36,894 thousands in 2025 and was at its lowest, 7,450 thousands, in 1970.
That places Japan 4th out of 230 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 56 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 8,723 thousands | 7,450 thousands | 10,210 thousands | 10 |
| 1980s | 12,195 thousands | 10,563 thousands | 14,098 thousands | 10 |
| 1990s | 17,777 thousands | 14,693 thousands | 21,020 thousands | 10 |
| 2000s | 25,264 thousands | 21,760 thousands | 28,930 thousands | 10 |
| 2010s | 33,072 thousands | 29,429 thousands | 36,147 thousands | 10 |
| 2020s | 36,711 thousands | 36,398 thousands | 36,894 thousands | 6 |
Countries ranked near Japan
More population data for Japan
- Population growth rate by level of development -0.501 (2100)
- Projected population under age 5 2.83 million (2100)
- Population density 210.83 (2100)
- Population growth rate -0.501 (2100)
- Fertility and wanted fertility 1.15 (2024)
- Refugee population by country or territory of asylum 29,068 (2024)
- Fertility vs unmet contraception 1.15 (2024)
- Fertility vs contraception 1.15 (2024)
- Natural population growth -0.6228 (2023)
- Fertility rate with projections 1.21 (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is population aged 65 years or older in Japan?
- Population aged 65 years or older in Japan was 36,894 thousands in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest population aged 65 years or older recorded in Japan?
- The highest recorded value was 36,894 thousands in 2025.
- What is the lowest population aged 65 years or older recorded in Japan?
- The lowest recorded value was 7,450 thousands in 1970.
- How does Japan rank for population aged 65 years or older?
- Japan ranks 4th out of 230 countries with data for 2025.
- Is population aged 65 years or older rising or falling in Japan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Japan data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Population aged 65 years or older (thousands). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV Β· JSON β 56 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release