Band 8.0 — 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 nations have considerably older populations and markedly longer life expectancy than the two developing ones, while population size follows no such pattern, Nigeria being by far the most populous.

Japan and Germany typify the profile of wealthy, ageing societies. Three in ten Japanese and more than a fifth of Germans are aged 65 or over, and 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, nonetheless has only 3% of its people aged 65 or over, and its average life expectancy, at 54, is fully three decades shorter than Japan's. Vietnam occupies a middle position: with a population of 101 million and just 9% over 65, it remains a young country, yet its life expectancy of 74 years lies far closer to the European level than to Nigeria's.