World Factbook
Japan
Nihon-koku/Nippon-koku
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Languages
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.
Religions
Shintoism 48.6%, Buddhism 46.4%, Christianity 1.1%, other 4% (2021 est.)
note: total adherents among persons claiming a religious affiliation
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
total population
0.95 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
65 years and over
0.79 male(s)/female
Birth rate
6.84 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate
12.04 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Median age
male
48.3 years
total
50.2 years (2025 est.)
female
51.3 years
Population
male
59,875,269
total
123,201,945 (2024 est.)
female
63,326,676
Nationality
noun
Japanese (singular and plural)
adjective
Japanese
Tobacco use
male
24.4% (2025 est.)
total
15.5% (2025 est.)
female
7.2% (2025 est.)
Urbanization
urban population
92% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
-0.25% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
12.1% (male 7,701,196/female 7,239,389)
15-64 years
58.4% (male 36,197,840/female 35,777,966)
65 years and over
29.5% (2024 est.) (male 15,976,233/female 20,309,321)
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
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio
71.2 (2024 est.)
youth dependency ratio
20.8 (2024 est.)
potential support ratio
2 (2024 est.)
elderly dependency ratio
50.4 (2024 est.)
Physician density
2.65 physicians/1,000 population (2022)
Health expenditure
Health expenditure (as % of GDP)
10.8% of GDP (2021)
Health expenditure (as % of national budget)
23.4% of national budget (2022 est.)
Net migration rate
0.73 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Hospital bed density
12.7 beds/1,000 population (2020 est.)
Total fertility rate
1.41 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Drinking water source
improved: total
total: 99.1% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 0.9% of population (2022 est.)
Education expenditure
Education expenditure (% GDP)
3.3% of GDP (2021 est.)
Education expenditure (% national budget)
7.5% national budget (2022 est.)
Infant mortality rate
male
2 deaths/1,000 live births
total
1.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
female
1.7 deaths/1,000 live births
Population growth rate
-0.45% (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
0.68 (2025 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)
Life expectancy at birth
male
82.3 years
female
88.2 years
total population
85.2 years (2024 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
3 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Sanitation facility access
improved: total
total: 99.9% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 0.1% of population (2022 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
beer
1.35 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine
0.29 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total
8.36 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.)
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)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
4.3% (2016)
Mother's mean age at first birth
30.7 years (2018 est.)
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
50% (2020 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
male
16 years (2022 est.)
total
16 years (2022 est.)
female
16 years (2022 est.)