China's population is aging at a significantly accelerated rate

(Deutsche Welle Chinese website) The "China Statistical Yearbook 2026" recently released by the National Bureau of Statistics of China shows that last year, China's population aged 0 to 14 years old was 212.76 million, accounting for 15.1% of the total population; the population aged 65 and above was 223.65 million, accounting for 15.9% of the total population; the old-age dependency ratio rose to 23.1%, exceeding the child dependency ratio (22%) for the first time.

The child dependency ratio refers to the ratio of the number of children aged 0 to 14 years old to the working age population aged 15 to 64 years old in a certain population. The old-age dependency ratio refers to the ratio of people aged 65 and above to the working-age population aged 15 to 64 in a country or region.

If both indicators are low, it means that the society is in a stage of abundant labor and low support burden.

China's old-age dependency ratio has increased rapidly in recent years. In 2016, China's old-age dependency ratio was 15%. In 2021, it exceeded 20% for the first time, reaching 20.8%. The old-age dependency ratio will rise to 22.8% in 2024, and the child dependency ratio that year will be 23%.

China has been preparing for an increasingly aging population in recent years, while urging younger generations to get married and have more children. From 1980 to the end of 2015, China implemented the controversial "one-child policy" to control population growth. Although China has relaxed restrictions on family size in recent years, its fertility rate has continued to decline. According to the "China Statistical Yearbook 2026" and relevant official statistics, China's birth population in 2025 will be 7.92 million, the birth rate is 5.63‰, and the natural population growth rate is -2.41‰.

Researchers believe that changes in China's demographic structure may indicate that public spending will shift more from families and schools to pensions and health care.

According to data from the European Union Statistics Office (EUROSTAT), in December 2025, Germany's old-age dependency ratio was 35.90%.