Japan's population plummets amid pandemic

Japan's population plummets amid pandemic
Japan's population plummets amid pandemic
Anonim

Japan's population fell to 126.65 million as of Jan. 1, the largest decline since 2013, reflecting a decline in the number of foreigners residing due to tightening border controls in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, government data showed on Wednesday.

The population was 126,654,244, a decrease of 483,789, or 0.38% from the previous year, the largest decline since 2013, when data began to include resident aliens, according to figures released by the Ministry of the Interior.

The number of people leaving Japan has exceeded the number of people entering the country, contributing to the first decline in the number of resident foreigners in seven years to 2,811,543, down 55,172 from 2020.

The number of Japanese people fell by 428,617 to 123,842,701, the 12th consecutive year of decline as deaths outnumber births in an aging society.

The annual number of newborns in Japan fell to a record low of 843,321, and the number of deaths was 1,373,929, slightly less than the previous year.

People aged 65 and over accounted for 28.73% of the total population, which is 0.32 percentage points more than a year earlier. The share of people aged 15 to 64 who are considered to be able-bodied population amounted to 59.09%, having decreased by 0.20 points.

By region, 42 of Japan's 47 prefectures have declined in population, while Tokyo and the neighboring prefectures of Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa and Okinawa have grown in population.

Recommended: