The number of children in Japan has fallen to its lowest level since the 1950s when such statistics began to be kept.

As of April 1, there were 14.65 million girls and boys under the age of 14 in the country, 250,000 fewer than a year ago, according to a report released on Wednesday by the Ministry of Administrative Affairs and Communications. It is timed to coincide with the national holiday celebrated on May 5 - Children's Day.

The little citizens of the country under the age of 14 now account for only 11.7% of the population. Japan on this indicator takes the lowest place among 35 countries with a population of over 40 million people.

The number of children in the country has been steadily declining since 1982. The birth rate has dropped further in recent years due to the pandemic.

The population of Japan, including foreign residents permanently residing in the country, decreased by 644,000 people to 125.5 million from October 2020 to October 2021. This process was observed in all age categories except the elderly. The number of men and women over the age of 65 increased by almost 190,000 over the year, to 36.2 million. This is approximately 29% of the total population of Japan.