WUNRN
"The sex ratio among the
elderly will be out of balance in the future. In 2010, the sex ratio was equal,
but by 2050, elderly females will outnumber elderly males by 30 million."
CHINA - FIRST REPORT
ON DEVELOPMENT ON AGEING - 2014
Editor: Arnold Hou - September 24, 2014
The number of the elderly 'empty nesters' (elderly people whose children have left home) in China account for half of the total elderly population, and is expected to break 70 percent in the future.
The data was based on the China Report of the Development on Ageing 2014 released in Beijing on September 23, the first bluebook on the development of aging cause in China.
Deputy-Director of the China Research Center on Ageing Dang Junwu said that significant changes will take place among the elderly in China in the future.
The report expects that the number of seniors without children will rise to 79 million by 2050, because of the increase in the number of elderly people losing their only children, and the ageing of DINK (Double Income, No Kids) families and singles.
The report also expects that the number of disabled seniors will rise from 37.5 million in 2013 to 97 million by 2050, and will exceed 100 million in 2053, the peak year of the ageing population.
The number of elderly people with chronic diseases will rise from 110 million to 300 million by 2050 and the number of visits that elderly people make to a doctor will rise from 1,350 million to 3,680 million per annum by 2050, which means that their medical expenses will account for more than 5 percent of the country's GDP.
Currently, the percentages of elderly citizens with health problems, ordinary health and good health account for 27 percent, 56 percent and 17 percent respectively, showing that their health conditions are worrying.
The number of seniors aged 80 and above will rise from 23 million in 2013 to 108 million in 2050, and will reach a peak of 118 million in 2054.
According to the report, great changes will take place in the distribution of the elderly in rural and urban areas. In the future, the number of elderly residents in urban areas will keep rising, while the number in rural areas will rise first and then fall. About 30 percent of the elderly will still live in rural areas by 2050.
The sex ratio among the elderly will be out of balance in the future. In 2010, the sex ratio was equal, but by 2050, elderly females will outnumber elderly males by 30 million.
The report shows that the elderly have fewer and fewer children. In 2010, the elderly in China had an average of 3.2 children, but between 2020 and 2030, the number will fall below two and the number of elderly people's children in urban areas will fall below one.
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