# China's elderly now outnumber children for first time

> China's old-age dependency ratio has overtaken its child dependency ratio, creating mounting pressure on pensions and healthcare as the workforce shrinks.
- Title: China's elderly now outnumber children for first time
- Summary: China's old-age dependency ratio has overtaken its child dependency ratio, creating mounting pressure on pensions and healthcare as the workforce shrinks…
- Keywords: china, aging population, demographics, pensions, birth rate, workforce, healthcare, China's, elderly, outnumber, children, first
- Source: Fortune — https://fortune.com/2026/10/29/china-old-age-dependency-ratio
- Author: Jay Ganglani
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: china, aging population, demographics, pensions, birth rate, workforce, healthcare
## Elderly now outnumber children in China
China's old-age dependency ratio rose to twenty-three point one percent last year, overtaking the child dependency ratio of twenty-two percent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
## More than 223 million elderly, 213 million children
More than two hundred twenty-three million people in China are sixty-five or older, compared with roughly two hundred thirteen million children aged fourteen and under, according to government data.
## Pension and healthcare costs mounting
The costs of an ageing population fall more heavily on pensions, healthcare and long-term care, says Stuart Gietel-Basten, professor of social science and public policy at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

> The costs of an ageing population fall more heavily on pensions, healthcare and long-term care.
## Birth rate hits lowest since 1949
China's population fell for a fourth consecutive year in twenty twenty-five, dropping by three point four million people to one point four zero five billion.
## Government offers incentives to boost births
China announced last year it would offer parents a subsidy of three thousand six hundred yuan, five hundred forty dollars, a year for each child under three.
## Key takeaway

China's elderly population now exceeds its children for the first time, straining pensions and healthcare as the birth rate hits its lowest since nineteen forty-nine.