China’s elderly population tops 323 MN 

China’s elderly population has grown by more than 100 million over the past decade, reports Caixin. This pushes the country deeper into a demographic shift that is expected to strain its pension system and reshape the economy.

By the end of 2025, China had 323.38 million people aged 60 and older, equal to 23% of the population, according to figures released Friday by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Office of the National Working Commission on Aging. That compares with 220 million in 2015, underscoring the speed of the country’s demographic transition.

The latest data confirm China’s position as a moderately aging society, a threshold it crossed at the end of 2023 when the share of people aged 60 and older first exceeded 20%. Under commonly used demographic benchmarks, a society is considered moderately aging when that cohort accounts for 20% to 30% of the population, and severely aging when the share rises above 30%. China could enter the severely aging category within the next decade. A 2022 State Council report projected that the population aged 60 and older would reach about 420 million by 2035, or more than 30% of the total. Both the number of elderly people and their share of the population are expected to peak around 2050.