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China’s Ageing Population: The Present Situation and Prospects

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Population Change and Impacts in Asia and the Pacific

Part of the book series: New Frontiers in Regional Science: Asian Perspectives ((NFRSASIPER,volume 30))

Abstract

China has a rapidly ageing population, both numerically and structurally. The number of people aged 60 and over is increasing by about 6.2 million people per annum. Using this definition of the elderly, China is projected to have 280 million elderly by 2025. They will represent about one-fifth of the total population. An ageing population has become one of China’s basic national features. This chapter provides a statistical overview of China’s elderly at the national and regional levels, using 2010 Census data. Drawing on a review of the literature, we outline the issues that arise due to having an ageing population in modern China. We consider old age dependency, health and sources of income. We conclude that China is not well prepared to respond to issues arising from its ageing population.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the editors for their helpful suggestions and review of the English text of this chapter. We also thank two anonymous referees for their helpful comments on the draft chapter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mathematical and Information Sciences, Jiaxing University, Jiaxing City, Zhejiang Province, People’s Republic of China

    Guoping Mao & Debiao Wu

  2. Nanhu College, Jiaxing University, Jiaxing City, Zhejiang Province, People’s Republic of China

    Fuzhong Lu

  3. School of Business, Jiaxing University, Jiaxing City, Zhejiang Province, People’s Republic of China

    Xuchun Fan

Authors
  1. Guoping Mao
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  2. Fuzhong Lu
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  3. Xuchun Fan
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  4. Debiao Wu
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Guoping Mao .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Spatial Economics, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, National Institute of Demographic and Economic Analysis (NIDEA), University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand

    Jacques Poot

  2. School of Economics and Finance, Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand

    Matthew Roskruge

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Mao, G., Lu, F., Fan, X., Wu, D. (2020). China’s Ageing Population: The Present Situation and Prospects. In: Poot, J., Roskruge, M. (eds) Population Change and Impacts in Asia and the Pacific. New Frontiers in Regional Science: Asian Perspectives, vol 30. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0230-4_12

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