Japanese aged 65 or older now account for nearly 30 percent of the population, government data shows.

Japan’s elderly population has hit a record high of 36.25 million people, with those aged 65 or older now accounting for almost one-third of Japanese, according to government data.

Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said on Sunday that the elderly make up an estimated 29.3 percent of the population, a higher proportion than in any other country or region with more than 100,000 people.

Roughly 20.53 million of those aged 65 or older are women, while 15.72 million are men, the ministry said.

The data also showed that a record 9.14 million elderly people were employed last year, accounting for one in seven employees.

Japan is grappling with a worsening demographic crisis as a dwindling number of working-age people face being saddled with mounting healthcare and welfare costs for the elderly.

Japan’s population fell by 595,000 in the year to October 1, marking the 13th straight year of decline.

The Tokyo-based National Institute of Population and Social Security Research has projected that elderly Japanese will make up 34.8 percent of the country’s population by 2040.

A study published last year by the Recruit Works Institute, a think tank in Tokyo, said that Japan could face a shortage of more than 11 million workers by 2040 due to its shrinking population.

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Al Jazeera and news agencies