The emergence of negative growth in the total working-age population, which some demographers predict will happen as early as 2013, is likely to contribute to slower economic growth and higher inflation, according to analysts.
The latest census data, released by China’s National Bureau of Statistics recently, showed that the proportion of the population aged between 0 and 14 fell to 16.6 percent in 2010 from 22.9 percent in 2000. Meanwhile the number of people aged 60 and above grew to 13.3 percent from 10.3 percent.
The falling number of young people suggests the Chinese population is aging rapidly. The Asian Development Bank forecast that the proportion of those aged 60 and above is expected to rise to 33 percent by 2050. That would make China’s population the same age as Denmark’s, but older than that of the United States (26 percent).
The number of working-age Chinese will soon start to see negative growth, and China’s National Population and Family Planning Commission predicting the peak will occur in 2016, while some analysts say it could be as early as 2013.
