How many people live in Japan right now?
Right now, according to UN estimates
122,207,109
| Today | In 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Births | · | · |
| Deaths | · | · |
| Net migration | · | · |
| Growth | · | · |
2026 figures
- Rank by population
- 12 of 237
- Share of world population
- 1.47%
- Median age
- 50.2 years
- Children per woman
- 1.23
- Life expectancy
- 85.1 years
- People per km²
- 325
According to UN estimates, about 122 million people live in Japan right now. It ranks 12th out of 237 countries and territories by population, between Mexico and Egypt, and it is home to one in every 68 people on the planet.
Every day, about 2,000 people are born there and about 4,300 die. More people arrive than leave: net migration adds about 129,000 people a year. More people die than are born, and immigration is not enough to make up for it. Overall, the population shrinks by about 1,900 people a day (0.56% a year).
In 1950, about 86.4 million people lived there. Since then, the population has grown by 41%. It peaked in 2009, at about 128 million, and has been falling since. By 2050 it is projected to have about 105 million people (14% fewer than today), and by 2100 about 76.8 million.
Half of its people are younger than 50 (worldwide, 31). Women have an average of 1.23 children each, below the 2.1 needed for each generation to replace the one before, and life expectancy at birth is 85 years (worldwide, 74). There are 325 people per square kilometer.
UN estimates up to today and projections (medium variant) from today onward.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the population of Japan in 2026?
- Japan has about 122 million people right now, according to the UN's World Population Prospects 2024. On July 1, 2026, there were 122,427,731.
- How many people are born each day in Japan?
- About 2,000 a day (746,000 a year). About 4,300 people die each day (1.6 million a year).
- Is the population of Japan growing?
- No: it shrinks by 0.56% a year, or about 689,000 people.
- What will the population of Japan be in 2050?
- According to the UN projection (medium variant), about 105 million.
- Why doesn't this figure match the country's official statistics?
- The UN estimates the population of every country with the same method, based on censuses, surveys and registers, and projects it year by year. Each national statistics office uses its own censuses and registers, which may be more up to date or count foreign residents differently. That is why the figures can differ slightly.
Countries with a similar population
- Russia 143,283,433
- Ethiopia 139,989,400
- Mexico 133,319,811
- Egypt 120,651,455
- Philippines 118,018,774
- Democratic Republic of the Congo 117,604,310
More countries in Asia
- India 1,480,584,577
- China 1,411,889,035
- Indonesia 288,550,008
- Pakistan 260,627,436
- Bangladesh 178,484,147
- Philippines 118,018,774
- Vietnam 102,351,256
- Iran 93,380,178
- Turkey 88,012,235
- Thailand 71,536,979
- Myanmar 55,285,209
- South Korea 51,574,554
All countries and territories →
Where these figures come from
The figures are estimates from the United Nations Population Division, published in World Population Prospects 2024 (medium variant): the reference used by international organizations and by most population counters. The UN estimates how many people there are on July 1 of each year and how many are born, die and migrate; between one date and the next, this counter spreads the change continuously, second by second.
It is not a real-time headcount: nobody can count every person in a country at once. It is the best available estimate, and it may differ slightly from the figures of each country's statistics office, which use their own censuses and population registers.