População de Japão diminui

Japan population falls to 15-year low

Japan's population is forecast to drop to some 86.7 million in 2060 with the proportion of people aged 65 or over estimated to reach nearly 40% of the total (AFP Photo/Yoshikazu Tsuno)

Japan's population has shrunk for the fourth year running, falling back to a level it was last at in 2000, with more than one in four people now aged 65 or older, the government said.

The population dropped by 0.17 percent, or 215,000 people, to 127,083,000 as of October 1 last year, according to the data released on Friday. The figure includes long-staying foreigners.

The number of people aged 65 or over rose by 1.1 million to 33 million and now outnumber those aged 14 or younger by two to one.

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