China is feeling the pressure exerted by an elderly population
of 143 million -- the largest in the world. According to a report
released by the China National Committee on Aging on Thursday, the
aging population is growing by 3.02 million annually.
China's elderly population is expected to hit 437 million by
2051 when three out of 10 Chinese people will be over 60, said the
report.
Li Bengong, a senior official with the committee, said China is
facing a surging demand from the elderly population in terms of
social welfare and medical service.
In 2004, expenditure on social welfare for the elderly
population reached 350.2 billion yuan (around US$42 billion)--up
65.5 percent from 2000. Welfare fees for retired people as well as
medical insurance funds also rose steeply. Li admitted that welfare
services may not match the rise in demand.
At present China has 380,000 homes for elderly people with 1.2
million beds. This means that 1,000 elderly people are competing
for 8 beds--far less than the 50 to 70 beds of developed
countries.
The Chinese government recognizes the problem and has increased
government financial support to social welfare development designed
to meet the needs of elderly people, Li noted.
In 2004 the central financial subsidy to endowment insurance
climbed to 52.2 billion yuan (around US$6.3 billion).
The pressure of an aging population in rural areas is even
bigger than in urban districts. About 85.57 million elderly rural
residents--making up 65.82 percent of the country's total--do not
benefit from the country's social welfare system, pensions or
receive adequate medical care.
But China's population officials and experts said on Thursday
that an ageing society should not affect the long-established
family-planning policy.
Yan Qingchun, deputy director of the committee's general office,
attributed the increasing age of the population to lower birth
rates and longer life expectancy.
"It's unreasonable to place all the blame on China's family
planning policy, which actually exerted little influence on the
ageing population growth," Yan said. He added that the national
family planning policy covers two thirds of China's population --
not it all.
According to the fifth national population census the life
expectancy of the Chinese people was 71.4 years in 2000 -- 2.85
years longer than 1990.
"People live longer, which is the main reason for the rise in
the number of elderly people," said Yan.
He added that the family planning policy helped reduce China's
population in the 1970s. But people's views on the subject had
changed with? social and economic development speeding-up
quickly. The number of "Dink" (double income with no kids) families
continues to rise. .
China's population has reached 1.3 billion and is expected to
hit 1.465 billion by 2030 posing great challenges to China's
economic and social development, said the report.
China is advocating that "senior citizens live at home and be
taken care of in the community". Yan calls for an overall
development program for services for elderly people and investing
more in community development.
(Xinhua News Agency February 24, 2006)