Is China getting older population after Japan?

Japan in Asia and Italy in Europe are suffering with an aged population. The country had many problems when its working age population declined. More than 60 years old people exist in these two nations. 

China has conducted its seventh national population census in November and December. Census numbers will clearly reveal demographic shift in China. The country has 1.4 billion people living in China which is almost 5.5% more than a decade ago but Beijing has worried about the slow birth rate.

According to China’s latest census its population has grown by 72 million since 2010. The number of people 15-59 age has dropped by 7% while the number of people over continues to increase with 5%. China implemented a one child policy in the late 70’s which was a tremendous success. China changed the policy on population in 2015 with the two child policy that hadn't worked well. Reportedly, Beijing has expected to change the rules in order to encourage more women to give birth otherwise the country is walking into demographic crisis.

China is getting old at a speed and scale that dwarfs Japan, creating pressure that China’s pension and health care systems are not in good shape to cope with. China is still the most populous country in the world but its slowing rate of population growth is raising fears of a demographic gap in near future. Chinese birth rate drops 18% year-on-year. It will be the biggest challenge for China to safeguard its economy with the shrinking of the working age population. There is an estimation that China’s working population will decline by more than 10% per year by 2023.