Population distribution in Beijing, China 2020, by five-year age group

As of 2020, about 11.4 percent of the population in Beijing was between 30 and 34 years of age, whereas only 1.3 percent were aged 85 and above. Beijing is the capital city of China and after Shanghai, the second largest city in the country.

Beijing’s age distribution

A broad age distribution of Beijing’s inhabitants reveals that a comparatively large share of the total population is of working age, while few children live in the city. This gap becomes even more obvious when looking at the age distribution by five-year groups: While the age cohort between 25 and 29 accounts for 8.7 percent of the population, the age group between 15 and 19 accounts for only 2.9 percent. Two main reasons are responsible for this gap: On the one hand, many young people in their early working years move to the city and search for job opportunities; on the other hand, the motivation for having children in the city is low, mostly due to economic reasons. Many migrant workers from outside the city even leave their children behind when searching for better jobs in the city. Not only is the national average age distribution more balanced in this regard, but also that of many other larger cities.

Prospects for the future

In recent years, Beijing’s municipal government was determined to limit population inflow into the city. At the same time, former national measures of birth control were gradually relaxed and restrictions for migrants to take their children with them were partially lifted, which already had a positive effect on the number of children in the youngest age cohorts. However, given the very high costs of living in Beijing and its low attractiveness to family-oriented people, it is very likely that the average age of the population will increase quickly, leading to all the challenges and opportunities of a rapidly aging society.