Fewer children, more elderly: The crisis China is struggling to stop

China's demographic crisis is deepening: In the capital Beijing, over 5 million residents are aged 60 and above, and their share is expected to grow. According to official data, China's population shrank by 3.39 million in 2025, with only 7.92 million births compared to 11.31 million deaths. Authorities are expanding elderly care services and trying to boost birth rates with financial support.

China's demographic crisis is deepening: In the capital Beijing, over 5 million residents are already aged 60 and above, and their share is expected to grow significantly within a decade. According to data from China's National Bureau of Statistics, at the end of 2025 the country's population stood at 1.405 billion, having shrunk by about 3.39 million over the year. During the year, only 7.92 million babies were born, compared to 11.31 million deaths. The number of people aged 60 and over reached 323.38 million, about 23% of the population. UN projections forecast that China's population will shrink to about 1.37 billion by 2035 and about 1.26 billion by 2050. In response, authorities in Beijing are expanding elderly care services and plan to add 30,000 beds for home care over the next three years. At the same time, the government is trying to encourage births through financial support for families, whose potential cost in 2026 is estimated at about 180 billion yuan (about $27 billion). Economists warn that the decline in the number of young people could hurt private consumption and strain pension budgets.