China, for the first time, has more elderly than children in 2025, the dependency ratio of the elderly in China has surpassed that of children for the first time. The Chinese media writes about this with reference to calculations based on official data. The figure for children was 22%, and for the elderly - 23.1%. This means that for every 100 people of working age there are 23.1 elderly people and 22 children. The change reflects the aging of the population and declining fertility. In 2025, the number of people over 65 reached 223.65 million, and children from 0 to 14 - 212.76 million. The number of elderly people increased by 10.89 million. This increases the burden on education, the pension system and the care of the elderly. The changes are already affecting the service sector: in some areas, kindergartens are turning into nursing homes. The demand for the "money economy" is also increasing, for example, for education for the elderly.

China, for the first time, has more elderly than children in 2025, the dependency ratio of the elderly in China has surpassed that of children for the first time. The Chinese media writes about this with reference to calculations based on official data. The figure for children was 22%, and for the elderly - 23.1%. This means that for every 100 people of working age there are 23.1 elderly people and 22 children. The change reflects the aging of the population and declining fertility. In 2025, the number of people over 65 reached 223.65 million, and children from 0 to 14 - 212.76 million. The number of elderly people increased by 10.89 million. This increases the burden on education, the pension system and the care of the elderly. The changes are already affecting the service sector: in some areas, kindergartens are turning into nursing homes. The demand for the "money economy" is also increasing, for example, for education for the elderly.