Nearly 30% of Japanese people are now aged 65 and over. The ageing of the population is leading to an increase in medical and social costs.
The “Land of the Rising Sun” has aged again. According to data released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, nearly 36.25 million Japanese people will be aged 65 and over in 2024, accounting for 29.3% of the population.
With such a percentage, Japan tops a list of 200 countries and regions. It is followed by the French island of Martinique (25.3% of the population), Puerto Rico (24.7%) and Italy (24.6%).
In 2023, Japan’s population decreased by 595,000 people compared to 2022. The country now has 124 million inhabitants, according to the new figures.
The demographic crisis has important implications: the increase in the number of elderly people leads to an increase in medical and social costs, as well as a decrease in the workforce that contributes.
Another record: 9.14 million older people were working in 2023, or 13.5% of them. They represented one in seven people among the working population.
