One in 4 elderly Chinese living below poverty line, landmark study finds

Old, poor, and ill: it seems China has a big challenge on her hands. About one in three Chinese elderly report having poor health, and nearly one in four have consumption levels below the poverty line, according to findings released today from a landmark survey of Chinese adults aged 45 and over.

With a rapidly ageing population – the fastest in the world – China is clearly faced with the challenge of putting in place adequate health care and retirement support for this growing elderly population of 60 years and over.

Surveying 17,708 individuals from 10,287 households from a nationally representative sample of China excluding Tibet, the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) provides policymakers and researchers with a broad range of data on the real circumstances of mainlanders as they age.

The first major report from the study was released today at a press conference at Beijing’s Peking University, which directed the multi-disciplinary study.

It provides critical insight on China’s ageing population, combining extensive socioeconomic data, such as on employment, education and consumption, with self-reported and actual measures of physical and psychological health, including blood pressure and cognitive decline.