TOKYO, Sept 20 (Bernama-Kyodo) -- Japan's population aged 65 or older accounted for a record 29.6 per cent of the total, the government estimated on Sunday, with the proportion remaining the highest among countries with populations exceeding 40 million, Kyodo News reported.
The elderly population totalled a record 36.24 million - 15.71 million men and 20.54 million women - up 20,000 from a year earlier, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said ahead of Japan's Respect for the Aged Day on Monday.
The ministry said in September last year that the proportion of elderly people stood at 29.4 per cent, also the highest among countries with populations exceeding 40 million.
The proportion reached an all-time high for the third time, following 2022 and 2024.
Among 39 countries with populations of 40 million or more, Japan was followed by Italy, where 25.6 per cent of the population was aged 65 or older, Germany at 24.2 per cent and France at 22.9 per cent.
Those aged 75 or older accounted for 17.7 per cent of Japan's population, the highest proportion among nine major countries, followed by Italy at 13.3 per cent.
Japan's elderly population is expected to rise to 39.45 million, or 36.3 per cent of the total, by 2045 as the 1971-74 second baby boom generation ages into the category, according to the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research.
-- BERNAMA-KYODO
