Japan vs Vietnam
Japan has 1.2× the population of Vietnam: 123,366,734 vs 101,598,527, a gap of 21.8 million. Vietnam is growing faster (+0.60% vs −0.49% a year), adding about 612,685 people a year against −607,141. Using continuous exponential growth from the stated base year, if these rates held, Vietnam would overtake Japan in about 18 years (from the 2025 population bases, around 2043) — a projection, not a forecast. Japan is the older society: 30.0% aged 65+ against 9.5% in Vietnam, while Vietnam has more children (22.9% under 15 vs 11.2%). People in Japan live 9.3 years longer on average (84.0 vs 74.7). GDP per capita is 7.1× higher in Japan ($35,951 vs $5,066).
Country/territory population bases: World Bank 2025 (Japan) and 2025 (Vietnam); growth years 2025 / 2025. Annual source values, not live counts; years may differ. Growth is national, not local.
Japan vs Vietnam — side by side
 Japan |  Vietnam | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 123,366,7342025 | 101,598,5272025 |
| Growth rate / yr | −0.49%2025 | +0.60%2025 |
| Births per 1,000 | 5.72024 | 13.42024 |
| Deaths per 1,000 | 13.32024 | 6.62024 |
| Children per woman | 1.152024 | 1.902024 |
| Life expectancy | 84.0 yrs2024 | 74.7 yrs2024 |
| Aged 0–14 | 11.2%2025 | 22.9%2025 |
| Aged 65+ | 30.0%2025 | 9.5%2025 |
| Density | 341.5 /km²2023 | 320.2 /km²2023 |
| Area | 377,969 km²2023 | 331,338 km²2023 |
| Urban population | 92.3%2025 | 38.8%2025 |
| Net migration / yr | +140,5792025 | -48,1712025 |
| GDP per capita | $35,9512025 | $5,0662025 |
| Country population rank (available records) | #12 | #16 |
| Base / world population (World Bank 2025) | 1.50% | 1.24% |
Highlighted cell = the higher value (not "better"). Small print under each value is its own data year. Source: World Bank; country/territory population bases may have different years. These are not live counts.
Population since 1960
World Bank population history (not the separate UN WPP timeline). Japan: 1.3× from 1960 to 2025; Vietnam: 3.1× from 1960 to 2025. Left: absolute population. Right: each series indexed to its own first available year = 100; baseline years may differ.
More comparisons
Region: East Asia & Pacific · rankings
Japan: Japan vs India, Japan vs China, Japan vs United States, Japan vs Indonesia, Japan vs Pakistan, Japan vs Nigeria, Japan vs Brazil, Japan vs Bangladesh.
Vietnam: Vietnam vs India, Vietnam vs China, Vietnam vs United States, Vietnam vs Indonesia, Vietnam vs Pakistan, Vietnam vs Nigeria, Vietnam vs Brazil, Vietnam vs Bangladesh.
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