As of 2022, the bulk of the Chinese population was aged between 25 and 59 years, amounting to around half of the population. A breakdown of the population by broad age groups reveals that around 62 percent of the total population was in working age between 16 and 59 years in 2022. Age cohorts below 25 years were considerably smaller, although there was a slight growth trend in recent years.
Population development in China
Population development in China over the past decades has been strongly influenced by political and economic factors. After a time of high fertility rates during the Maoist regime, China introduced birth-control measures in the 1970s, including the so-called one-child policy. The fertility rate dropped accordingly from around six children per woman in the 1960s to below two at the end of the 20th century. At the same time, life expectancy increased consistently. In the face of a rapidly aging society, the government gradually lifted the one-child policy after 2012, finally arriving at a three-child policy in 2021. However, like in most other developed countries nowadays, people in China are reluctant to have more than one or two children due to high costs of living and education, as well as changed social norms and private values.
China’s top-heavy age pyramid
The above-mentioned developments are clearly reflected in the Chinese age pyramid. The age cohorts between 30 and 39 years are the last two larger age cohorts. The cohorts between 15 and 24, which now enter childbearing age, are decisively smaller, which will have a negative effect on the number of births in the coming decade. When looking at a gender distribution of the population pyramid, a considerable gender gap among the younger age cohorts becomes visible, leaving even less room for growth in birth figures.
Population distribution in China in 2022, by five-year age group
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National Bureau of Statistics of China. (October 16, 2023). Population distribution in China in 2022, by five-year age group [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved September 01, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1101677/population-distribution-by-detailed-age-group-in-china/
National Bureau of Statistics of China. "Population distribution in China in 2022, by five-year age group." Chart. October 16, 2023. Statista. Accessed September 01, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1101677/population-distribution-by-detailed-age-group-in-china/
National Bureau of Statistics of China. (2023). Population distribution in China in 2022, by five-year age group. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: September 01, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1101677/population-distribution-by-detailed-age-group-in-china/
National Bureau of Statistics of China. "Population Distribution in China in 2022, by Five-year Age Group." Statista, Statista Inc., 16 Oct 2023, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1101677/population-distribution-by-detailed-age-group-in-china/
National Bureau of Statistics of China, Population distribution in China in 2022, by five-year age group Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1101677/population-distribution-by-detailed-age-group-in-china/ (last visited September 01, 2024)
Population distribution in China in 2022, by five-year age group [Graph], National Bureau of Statistics of China, October 16, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1101677/population-distribution-by-detailed-age-group-in-china/