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BEIJING: China’s capital is projected to enter the category of a “super-aged” city by 2035, when roughly one out of every three of its residents is expected to be 60 years of age or above, according to a report carried on Saturday by the official Beijing Daily.
The newspaper stated that, as of the end of last year, Beijing was home to 5.29 million permanent residents aged 60 and over, a figure accounting for nearly a quarter of the city’s total population. The report noted that the municipal government is expanding its support measures for older residents, including an increase in the basic pension.
The projection for Beijing reflects a wider demographic shift across China. The country’s population has been in decline since 2022 and is ageing at a rapid pace, a trend that poses mounting challenges to the government’s efforts to stimulate domestic consumption and contain debt. Hundreds of millions of people are expected to exit the workforce in the coming years, at a time when pension budgets are already under considerable strain.
In response, Chinese policymakers have placed population planning at the centre of the country’s economic strategy. According to Reuters estimates, the government faces a potential total outlay of approximately 180 billion yuan (around $26.92 billion) this year on measures aimed at encouraging births.
Demographers and economists have cautioned that declining birth rates today could translate into fewer households and slower growth in consumption over the long term, adding further pressure on the world’s second-largest economy as it adapts to an older population.
