ID :
204086
Mon, 08/29/2011 - 07:14
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/204086
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Number of senior Chinese tops 100 mln in 2010
Number of senior Chinese tops 100 mln in 2010
By Kim Young-gyo
HONG KONG, Aug. 29 (Yonhap) -- The number of elderly people in China surpassed 100 million in 2010, government officials said Monday, suggesting that the country is fast moving toward an aging society.
The Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress (NPC), said people aged 65 years or older in China reached 119 million last year, accounting for 8.87 percent of the country's total population of more than 1.3 billion.
The number of Chinese people aged 60 or older stood at 178 million last year, making up 13.26 percent of the population.
Li Jianguo, vice-chairman of the Standing Committee, said the country urgently needs to establish a social care insurance system in order to protect the rights of aging people.
He estimated that people older than 60 will reach 200 million in 2014 and 300 million in 2025. In 2042, they are expected to make up 30 percent of the total population in China.
In China, taking care of the elderly was traditionally considered the responsibility of their children and relatives.
Many experts say, however, that this tradition is no longer sustainable in the rapidly developing and urbanizing China, as many elderly live on their own with their children living elsewhere.
Only ten percent of those in need are estimated to receive care at public nursing homes, but the majority cannot afford expensive services from private agencies, which have varying levels of quality, government officials said.
ygkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
By Kim Young-gyo
HONG KONG, Aug. 29 (Yonhap) -- The number of elderly people in China surpassed 100 million in 2010, government officials said Monday, suggesting that the country is fast moving toward an aging society.
The Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress (NPC), said people aged 65 years or older in China reached 119 million last year, accounting for 8.87 percent of the country's total population of more than 1.3 billion.
The number of Chinese people aged 60 or older stood at 178 million last year, making up 13.26 percent of the population.
Li Jianguo, vice-chairman of the Standing Committee, said the country urgently needs to establish a social care insurance system in order to protect the rights of aging people.
He estimated that people older than 60 will reach 200 million in 2014 and 300 million in 2025. In 2042, they are expected to make up 30 percent of the total population in China.
In China, taking care of the elderly was traditionally considered the responsibility of their children and relatives.
Many experts say, however, that this tradition is no longer sustainable in the rapidly developing and urbanizing China, as many elderly live on their own with their children living elsewhere.
Only ten percent of those in need are estimated to receive care at public nursing homes, but the majority cannot afford expensive services from private agencies, which have varying levels of quality, government officials said.
ygkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
