The population of Japan as per June 2008 stands at 127.7 million. Japan the 10th most populous country of the world, contributes 2% of the total global population. Population density in Japan is 339 persons per square kilometer and ranks 32nd in the world in respect to country population density.
As per the latest stats median age life expectancy at birth is 82.12 years of
an average Japanese is 44.2 years and infant mortality rate is 2.79 deaths per 1000 births. 66% of the entire Japanese population lives in urban areas with an annual change rate of urbanization as 0.2%.
Japan is now a day is facing a sharp decline in its populations as the # of deaths is outnumbering the # of births in the country. This has impacted the growth prospects of the country negatively. Longer life expectancy and low birth rates means that reducing Japanese population is graying at a higher rate. This is an alarming situation for Japan especially during this universal global recession time.
In 2008, the government of Japan recovered 1.14 million deaths, the highest ever in Japan since 1947. It was until 2005 that the # of births exceeded the # of deaths. But the figures have changed drastically and in 2008 itself 1.09 million births and 1.14 million deaths resulted in a population dip by over 50,000 people. Due to this population fall almost 25% of the present Japanese population is of the age 65 and above, which further makes the Japanese economy weaker.
Late marriages and more working women are the primary 2 reasons for the reduced births in Japan. The country has a low fertility rate on 1.36 as compared to USA, 2.10 and France, 1.98.
