Graphs · Population crossing

Japan: Births and Deaths, 1947–2024

Source: Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare · Vital Statistics · Data year 2024 · Updated May 2026

2,697
Peak births (1949, postwar boom)
2007
Year deaths crossed above births
919
Annual natural decline, 2024 (thousands)

Dual-line: births and deaths, 1947–2024

Two parallel series. The vertical reference marks 2007, the year deaths permanently crossed above births.

Surplus and deficit area

Same series, with the area between the two lines filled. Neutral fill is the births-above-deaths surplus; oxblood fill is the post-crossover deficit.

Decade averages

Mean births and mean deaths per decade. Trades temporal precision for pattern legibility.

Small multiples by decade

One micro-panel per decade so the gap's evolution is visible at a glance. Y-axis is shared across panels.

JAPAN MINISTRY OF HEALTH, LABOUR AND WELFARE · VITAL STATISTICS · 2024

Source: Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare · Vital Statistics

Methodology note: Live births and deaths reported by Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in the annual Vital Statistics series. Anchor years are verified against IPSS / MHLW / Wikipedia tabulations; non-anchor years are linearly interpolated between adjacent anchors. The 1966 hinoeuma year is preserved as a single-year anomaly (interpolation does not smooth across it).

Raw data: japan-population-crossing.json