Japan population, 1960 to 2024
Japan population stood at 124.0M in 2024, down 0.4% on the previous period.
Japan had 124 million people in 2024, down 0.4 percent from 124.5 million in 2023. In 1960, the first year shown, the count was 93.2 million.
How it is measured
The figures come from the World Bank's World Development Indicators (indicator SP.POP.TOTL): the midyear de facto population, counting all residents regardless of citizenship or legal status. National censuses anchor the series every decade or so; the years between are interpolated with birth, death, and migration data, aligned with the UN World Population Prospects. That is why the line is smooth rather than jagged: it is an estimate series pinned to census benchmarks.
What the curve shows
The shape here is the demographically interesting one: Japan's population peaked at 128.1 million in 2010 and has declined since, to 124 million. Population decline compounds the same way growth does, and it arrives with an older age structure, which is why a falling line concerns economists more than the raw numbers suggest.
Who is counted?
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