The population aged 60 and above in China has for the first time surpassed those under 15, showing how the country's demographic structure is aging.
According to the statement released by National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Thursday, the population of China was about 1.4 billion at the end of 2018. Among them, the number of people aged 15 and under is 248.6 million; those who aged 60 and above are 249.5 million.
The annual statement from the NBS, released in late February, includes data on agriculture, industry, trade and services, the economy, health and social security for the previous year.
Since 2010, the number of Chinese people aged 65 and above has increased by 83.2 million, with an average annual growth of 2.08 million. However, the population under the age of 15 has decreased by 90.17 million, with an average reduction of 2.25 million per year, said a report released in January this year by the Institute of Population and Labor Economics under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing.
The negative growth of the labor force will bring structural changes to the supply and demand relationship of the labor market and put forward urgent requirements for the reform of related systems, said the report.
