China’s
Elderly population to double by 2053
The
number of Chinese senior citizens is expected to skyrocket from the current 185
million to 487 million, or 35 percent of the population, by 2053, according to
the China National Committee On Aging.
"The
aging problem came late to China and the country is still struggling to create
mature policies addressing the issue," Zhu Yong, vice director of the
committee, said Monday at a seminar on aging held by the committee, the United
Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and HelpAge International.
China
had about 185 million people above the age of 60, or 13.7 percent of the
population, as of the end of last year. The figure is expected to surge to 221
million in 2015, including 51 million "empty nesters," or elderly
people whose children no longer live with them.
Zhu
urged authorities to draw experience from developed countries in order to
reduce uncertainties and risks.
At
the seminar, experts recommended improving economic and health support,
building more facilities for urban and rural senior residents, encouraging them
to participate in social activities and establishing a medical treatment
network for the aging population.
Figures
from UNFPA show that out of the global population, one out of every nine people
is at or above the age of 60. The ratio is expected to climb to one in five by
2050.
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