The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications released population statistics as of September 15, Respect-for-the-Aged Day.
Percentage of people aged 65 and over has risen to record high of 29.4%.
The number of seniors stood at 36.19 million, down 50,000 from the previous year’s record high.
However, Japan's total population has decreased by nearly 600,000, so the proportion of seniors in the total population has risen by 0.1 percentage points from the previous year to 29.4%, a new record high.
Among the 38 countries in the world with a population of over 40 million, Japan ranks first in terms of the proportion of elderly people, far ahead of second-place Italy at 25.1%.
The number of people aged 65 and older who are working reached 9.3 million, marking the 21st consecutive year of growth. Seniors now account for 13.7% of the total workforce, up 0.2 points from the previous year – both figures being record highs.
by MagazineKey4532