Column 　Finance and the Social Security System 　2018.02.20

【Aging, safety net and fiscal crisis in Japan】No.36: Household Projections for Japan

In this column series, Yukihiro Matsuyama, Research Director at CIGS introduces the latest information about aging, safety net and fiscal crisis in Japan with data of international comparison.
Aging Society&Others
Yukihiro MATSUYAMA
Yukihiro MATSUYAMA
Research Director

The National Institute of Population and Social Security Research announced the Household Projections for Japan 2015－2040 in January 2018. Reflecting the declining population, the number of households will decrease from 53.3 million in 2015 to 50.8 million in 2040 (Table 1). If the number of households declines, the demand for housing will also decrease, and hence a decline in real estate prices is expected.

On the other hand, the number of one-person households will increase from 18.4 million in 2015 to 19.9 million in 2040, and its ratio with total households will be 39.3%. However, as shown in Table 2, there are some developed countries where the ratio has already been around 40%.


Table 1 Number and Percentage of Households by Family Type　＜thousand＞

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（Source）National Institute of Population and Social Security Research



Table 2 International Comparison of Mean Size of Households and Percentage of One-person Households

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