August 4, 2026China’s elderly population has grown by more than 100 million over the past decade, reports Caixin. This pushes the country deeper into a demographic shift that is expected to strain its pension system and reshape the economy. The latest data confirm China’s position as a moderately aging society, a threshold it crossed at the end of 2023 when the share of people aged 60 and older first exceeded 20%. A 2022 State Council report projected that the population aged 60 and older would reach about 420 million by 2035, or more than 30% of the total. Both the number of elderly people and their share of the population are expected to peak around 2050.