Aging population a challenge

Posted on May 19, 2011 by Hong Zhang

By He Bolin (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-05-19 07:56

Census data released late last month have sparked a public debate on whether demographic factors would hinder China’s economic development. The fear has gained ground because China’s population is aging faster than expected, says Du Peng, director of the Institute of Gerontology, affiliated to Renmin University of China.

According to the data, there are 177.6 million people above the age of 60 in China, or 13.26 percent of the total population – up 2.93 percentage points from the previous census a decade ago. It also means that China has more senior citizens than in all the European countries put together. China’s aged population and its proportion to the total population both are higher than expected. Continue reading →

Posted in Census, Government Related | Tagged | Comments Off on Aging population a challenge

Japanese Disaster Particularly Stressful for Elderly with Dementia

Posted on May 17, 2011 by Sujie Zhu

(MCT) TOKYO – Life as evacuees from the Great East Japan Earthquake has been extremely hard for elderly people with dementia, many of whom appear to be deteriorating as a result of stress.

Experts predict that within 30 years, 10 percent of the people in Japan will have dementia, making care for the elderly a vital aspect of disaster preparedness that some feel requires closer attention. Continue reading →

Posted in East Asia, Media News, Other Countries, Senile Dementia | Tagged , | Comments Off on Japanese Disaster Particularly Stressful for Elderly with Dementia

Is China Cooking The Books On Its Census Data?

Posted on May 15, 2011 by Hong Zhang

Beijing grandmother and grandson (WestZest)Beijing grandmother and grandson (WestZest)

 

By Yi Fuxien
经济观察报(Economic Observer)/Worldcrunch

China’s just released 10-year census shows the country’s population total at 1.3397 billion people. Compared with the last census conducted in 2000, the 2010 numbers show that the population grew by 73.9 million people, an average growth rate of 0.57%, which is a 0.5% drop in growth from the previous 10-year period.

The fact that the population’s average growth rate has dropped by almost half over the past decade would in itself be shocking. But a closer look at the numbers raises doubts as to whether China really does have 1.3397 billion inhabitants.

According to the life expectancy table, the death rate per year of the under-55 age group is 0.22%. This means the figure of 933.98 million from the 2000 Census for the 15-59 age group should be re-adjusted to around 913.43 million. Such an adjustment results in a 2.87% growth rate, which brings the total current population to 1.31 billion. And if the same 2.87% growth rate is applied to other age groups, the true population of China stands at around 1.3 billion. Continue

Posted in Census, Government Related | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Is China Cooking The Books On Its Census Data?