The population pyramid of Japan, which roughly corresponds to those of the developed countries in Europe, shows a very different picture. Here, the population will decline by 2050. Similar to China, the young age groups become smaller and smaller. The effects of falling birth rates are compounded by the fact that there are fewer and fewer potential parents. In contrast, the proportion of older people in the total population is increasing. In this context, we often speak of the ageing of a society. This poses great challenges for politics. In Japan, this process is much more advanced than in China. Japan's population pyramid also shows conspicuous cuts, which, similar to Germany, can be traced back to the effects of the Second World War (high number of victims, smaller potential parent generations).

Mexico occupies an intermediate position. The shape of the population pyramid is similar to a beehive. The population will grow from 129 million to about 150 million by 2050. The growth rate is currently 1.4 percent per year but will decline in the coming decades. Life expectancy at birth is high and the fertility rate (TFR), with 2.2, is only just above the replacement level of 2.1. The country's population will therefore no longer grow strongly but will assume a stationary state.