The overall population of Japan fell for the fourteenth consecutive year in 2024, while the over-75 population continued to rise.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications estimated that Japan’s total population was 123,802,000, as of October 1, 2024, after a 550,000 (0.44%) year-on-year decrease. This is the fourteenth consecutive year for the population to decline. The population of Japanese citizens was 120,296,000, following an 898,000 (0.74%) drop, which is the largest decrease since comparable records began in 1950.
The natural population decline, calculated by subtracting births from deaths, reached a record high of 890,000, rising for the eighteenth year running. This decline was 437,000 for women and 453,000 for men. For the third straight year, there was a net increase in immigration, with 340,000 more people entering than leaving Japan.
By prefecture, the population only increased in Tokyo and Saitama, with decreases in all the remaining 45 prefectures. The rate of population decline was more than 1% in 18 prefectures, including Akita (–1.87%), Aomori (–1.66%), and Iwate (–1.57%).
By age group, the working population, consisting of people aged 15 to 64, stood at 73,728,000, a year-on-year decrease of 224,000, while the population aged 65 or older (red and orange in the figure below) increased by 17,000 to 36,243,000. Those 75 or older (red) increased by 700,000, to 20,777,000, and this age bracket now accounts for 57.3% of those aged 65 or older.
(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.)
AloJapan.com