China’s elderly population 240 mln by 2020
October 2, 2016, 9:02 am

China’s 13th five-year plan for the period beginning 2016 and ending 2021 has taken into account a huge budget dedicated to elderly care [Xinhua]

The Commission’s deputy head Liu Qian said the government would improve the medical insurance system and basic public health services.

But he also said that there were about 260 million Chinese afflicted with chronic disease.

The growing number of elderly and the falling number of working age people is a concern for Chinese leaders. China faces the risk of ending up with an outsized elderly population before it becomes a developed economy

Earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics released figures showing China’s working age population dropped by 4.87 million to 910.96 million in 2015, up from the previous year’s drop of 3.71 million.

China’s working age population, those aged 16 to 59, has been on the decline since 2012, and it is expected to reach 830 million in 2030, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security adds.

China’s 13th five-year plan for the period beginning 2016 and ending 2021 has taken into account a huge budget dedicated to elderly care.

In order to meet as yet undisclosed consumption targets during this period, the Communist Party of China (CPC) will push to fashion an economic strategy that it says is based on balanced, inclusive and sustainable economic development.

The CPC communique indicates that this will be achieved by looking at China’s existing demographic realities. One of the most significant and far-reaching decisions is the rescinding of the 30-year-old one-child policy and allow some 90 million eligible couples to have up to two children.

The CPC sees this as a socio-economic imperative because of its extensive ageing population and as a means to increase domestic consumption. It will lift the mandatory retirement age.

One target goal for the CPC in the coming five years will be to create a family-oriented care and service paradigm that will involve local communities to help with the ageing population.

The BRICS Post with inputs from Agencies