Japan's population, currently some 129 million, has experienced a phenomenal growth rate during the past 100 years as a result of scientific, industrial, and sociological changes, but this has recently slowed because of falling birth rates. High sanitary and health standards produce a life expectancy exceeding that of the U.S.

Japan is an urban society with only about 7% of the labor force engaged in agriculture. Many farmers supplement their income with part-time jobs in nearby towns and cities. About 80 million of the urban population are heavily concentrated on the Pacific shore of Honshu and in northern Kyushu. Metropolitan Tokyo with approximately 14 million; Yokohama with 3.3 million; Osaka 2.6 million; Nagoya 2.1 million; Kyoto 1.5 million; Sapporo 1.6 million; Kobe 1.4 million; and Kitakyushu, Kawasaki, and Fukuoka with 1.2 million each account for part of this population. Japan faces the same problems that confront urban industrialized societies throughout the world: over-crowded cities, congested highways, air pollution, and rising juvenile delinquency.

Basic facts
Population: 126,925,843 people in 47,062,743 households, 78.7 percent in urban areas (July 2000). High population density; 329.5 persons per square kilometer for total area; 1,523 persons per square kilometer for habitable land. More than 50 percent of population lives on 2 percent of land. (July 1993)

Population growth rate: 0.18% (2000 est.)

Birth rate: 9.96 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate: 8.15 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 15% (male 9,575,637; female 9,105,713)
15-64 years: 68% (male 43,363,054; female 42,980,253)
65 years and over: 17% (male 9,024,015; female 12,501,304) (2000 est.)
Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2000 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 3.91 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 80.7 years male: 77.51 years female: 84.05 years (2000 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.41 children born/woman (2000 est.)

Nationality: noun: Japanese (singular and plural) adjective: Japanese

Ethnic Groups: 99.4 percent Japanese and 0.6 percent other, mostly Korean (40.4% of non-Japanese) and some Chinese. Ainu, Ryukyuans and hisabetsu buraku constitute native Japanese minority groups. Japanese people are considered to be a homogeneous race but recent studies have shown that the Japanese race is very mixed. It consists of Chinese, Korean, Malay and proto-caucasoid blood which explains the variety of Japanese facial structures.

Foreign Citizens: More than 2.5 million (possibly higher because of the illegal immigrants), 14.9% up in five years. North and South Koreans 1 million, Chinese 0.5 million, Filipinos 0.5 million, and Brazilian 250,000 with others like Peruvian, American/Canadian, British, Indonesian, Thai, African and other nationals.

Marriage Status: Over 15: Married Male 61.8%, Female 58.2%. Never married Male 31.8%, Female 23.7%. 25 - 29: Never married Male 69.3%, Female 54.0%. 30 - 34: Never married Male 42.9%, Female 26.6% (July 2000).

Religion: No reliable statistics exist since census does not have questions regarding to religion. See Religions of Japan.

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Language: Japanese. Emphasis on English as a second language.

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% (1970 est.) male: NA% female: NA%