Number of children under 5 in Japan
Japan: Number of children under 5 was 4.14 million people in 2023. ▼ Falling
Number of children under 5 in Japan, 1950–2023
Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
Japan recorded 4.14 million people for number of children under 5 in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 74 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 3.5% on the previous year and down 21.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of children under 5 in Japan peaked at 12.04 million people in 1951 and was at its lowest, 4.14 million people, in 2023.
Japan ranks 37th of 236 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 74 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 10.01 million people | 8.15 million people | 12.04 million people | 10 |
| 1960s | 8.17 million people | 7.95 million people | 8.65 million people | 10 |
| 1970s | 9.73 million people | 8.78 million people | 10.38 million people | 10 |
| 1980s | 7.53 million people | 6.57 million people | 8.74 million people | 10 |
| 1990s | 5.99 million people | 5.89 million people | 6.34 million people | 10 |
| 2000s | 5.73 million people | 5.45 million people | 5.92 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.14 million people | 4.78 million people | 5.43 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.38 million people | 4.14 million people | 4.63 million people | 4 |
Countries ranked near Japan
More reference data data for Japan
- Spring temperature anomalies 1.24 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.1053 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month -0.7172 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 1.9 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 0.5865 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 118.04 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 1 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of children under 5 in Japan?
- Number of children under 5 in Japan was 4.14 million people in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest number of children under 5 recorded in Japan?
- The highest recorded value was 12.04 million people in 1951.
- What is the lowest number of children under 5 recorded in Japan?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.14 million people in 2023.
- How does Japan rank for number of children under 5?
- Japan ranks 37th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is number of children under 5 rising or falling in Japan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 21.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Japan data come from?
- The figures come from UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Number of children under 5. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The total population, measured on 1 July of the year shown. This only includes people aged 0-4.