Band 7.5 — Table: Population Indicators in Four Countries

The table compares four countries in terms of population size, the proportion of elderly citizens and average life expectancy in 2024.

Overall, the two developed countries have considerably older populations and longer life expectancy than the two developing ones, whereas population size follows no such pattern, with Nigeria being by far the most populous.

Japan and Germany illustrate the profile of wealthy, ageing societies. Three in ten Japanese and more than a fifth of Germans are aged 65 or over, while life expectancy in the two countries reaches 85 and 81 years respectively—the highest figures in the table.

The developing countries present almost the opposite picture. Nigeria, whose population of 230 million is nearly double Japan's 124 million, has only 3% of its people aged 65 or over, and its average life expectancy, at 54 years, is fully three decades shorter than Japan's. Vietnam occupies a middle position: although its population of 101 million remains relatively young, with 9% over 65, its life expectancy of 74 years lies far closer to the European level than to Nigeria's.