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Luna Sun

China has vowed to provide special care for elderly empty nesters, as concern grows over the nation’s fast-ageing population.
“We can’t allow urban senior citizens to become isolated without their needs being met in the internet age, nor can we allow the elderly in rural areas to have to collect firewood to prepare a meal by themselves,” said Ou Xiaoli, head of the social development division with the National Development and Reform Commission.
Speaking at a press conference this week, Ou said China’s elderly faced limited access to community services, such as dining, showering and medical assistance, and private businesses would be allowed to play a more active role in their future provision.
China is placing increasing focus on elderly care, amid fears its population could be at a demographic turning point that erodes the foundation of its booming economic growth over the past 40 years.


The population aged 60 and over was 267.36 million last year, accounting for 18.9 per cent of the total, according to official data. More than 200.56 million were aged 65 and over, accounting for 14.2 per cent of the total population.
The term empty nesters – which usually refers to parents whose children have grown up and left home, but in China includes those without children or spouses – applies to about two thirds of elderly Chinese, according to a report from state-backed Xinhua News Agency published last year.
Providing empty nesters with dining services will be a special focus for authorities, Ou said.
Private sector involvement in elderly care will be encouraged with favourable policies and fees from local governments, he added.


China’s ageing crisis is most severe in rural areas as young people typically migrate to big cities for work opportunities.
Some 23.81 per cent of rural citizens were 60 or older in 2020, according to the seventh national census, a much higher proportion than in urban areas.
A government survey in 2016 found that about 12 per cent of rural elderly were empty nesters.
China’s ageing population, coupled with a growing life expectancy, is also putting pressure on the medical system.
In 2019, Chinese people’s life expectancy was 77.4 years, while the healthy life expectancy – the number of years spent in good health – was 68.6 years, according to the World Health Organization.


The number of people aged 80 and above reached 35.8 million in 2020, and is expected to triple by 2050, further burdening the elderly care system.
To tackle the problem, China invested 27.1 billion yuan (US$4.2 billion) in elderly care infrastructure from 2012-20, official data showed.
A total of 5 billion yuan was invested in community support for the elderly over the past five years, and there were 291,000 home-based or community elderly care services across the country at the end of 2020.
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The capital Beijing has created more than a thousand dining centres across 2,000 communities for old people, providing affordable cafeteria services and “meals on wheals”.
Elderly care facilities were available in 68.1 per cent of Chinese villages and towns in 2021, providing basic services such as meals and visits, according to data from the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
China’s elderly care market exceeded one trillion yuan in 2021, and could reach 2.2 trillion yuan in 2030, according to iResearch Consulting Group’s estimation.



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Empty nesters will have greater access to dining services and medical assistance, and the private sector will play a bigger role in elderly care
China’s elderly care market could exceed one trillion yuan (US$1.57 billion) in 2021, and reach 2.2 trillion yuan in 2030, according to some estimates



China is prioritising elderly care as its population rapidly ages, putting pressure on the medical system and threatening to weigh on economic growth.
