Xinhua recently reported that China is “rushing into” the age of a peak senior population. According to the official data released by the National Committee on Aging, in 2013, China’s senior population will reach 200 million, which represents 14.8 percent of the overall Chinese population. The senior population is currently growing at the rate of eight million per year. Estimates are that it will reach a total of 430 million by the year 2050; at that time, one out of every three Chinese people will be over sixty years old. However Chinese society is suffering a very low readiness to provide needed care for its seniors. The Chinese economy does not have enough wealth to sustain the senior population in the coming years and the lack of working laborers is becoming a serious challenge for the economy itself. The report called for speeding up the process of constructing a social service system that supports an aging population.
Source: Xinhua, April 14, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2013-04/14/c_115377595.htm