The number of people aged 60 and over reached 212 million at the end of 2014, which made up 15.5 percent of the total population, according to Wang Yong, director of the China National Committee on Aging.

The aging population in China has five characteristics: aging population undergoes fast and large-scale growth; fast growth of disabled elders and heavy burden of the society; aging population problem in rural region becomes prominent; increase of empty nest family accelerates and more elderly live alone; people age before getting rich.

The article is edited and translated from《我國老年人口已達2.12億 未富先老矛盾凸顯》, source: People's Daily Online