To The Moon

According to the "2025 National Report on the Development of Aging Services" released jointly by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the China National Committee on Ageing on July 31, as of the end of 2025, the population aged 60 and above in China stood at 323.38 million, accounting for 23.0% of the total population. The population aged 65 and above reached 223.65 million, representing 15.9% of the total population. The dependency ratio for those aged 65 and over was 23.1%, while the national average life expectancy reached 79.25 years.

Chen Gong, Director of the Institute of Population Research and the Institute of Gerontology at Peking University, as well as a professor and doctoral supervisor, noted that China's aging services have made new progress in areas such as social security, elderly care services, health support, the silver economy, and the construction of an age-friendly society. The response to population aging has been integrated into the broader framework of safeguarding and improving people's livelihoods, promoting social equity, and cultivating development momentum.

The coverage of welfare subsidies for the elderly continues to expand. By the end of 2025, 53.538 million elderly individuals received various subsidies across the country, including 41.459 million receiving old-age allowances, 916,000 receiving nursing care subsidies, 5.858 million receiving elderly care service subsidies, and 5.305 million receiving comprehensive subsidies. In 2025, total fiscal expenditures at all levels for elderly care services and welfare reached approximately 120 billion yuan, with central government spending exceeding 30 billion yuan. Additionally, there were 19.742 million elderly individuals aged 60 and over with disabilities who held certificates, and two disability subsidies benefited 10.43 million disabled elderly individuals, accounting for 50.4% of all recipients of these subsidies.

In terms of social assistance, as of the end of 2025, 1.489 million elderly individuals were among the urban minimum subsistence guarantee recipients, while 13.624 million were among rural recipients. There were 264,000 elderly individuals in urban extreme poverty programs and 3.51 million in rural extreme poverty programs.

A sound network of elderly care service facilities and increased investment in hardware infrastructure form the foundation for better serving the elderly. By the end of 2025, the country had a total of 395,000 various types of elderly care institutions and facilities (including integrated medical and elderly care institutions), with 7.679 million elderly care beds. Among these, there were 39,200 registered elderly care institutions with 4.984 million beds (with nursing-type beds accounting for 69.9%); and 356,100 community-based elderly care service institutions and facilities with 2.695 million beds. The country had 4,730 county-level public elderly care institutions, achieving 100% coverage; 20,500 township and sub-district regional elderly care service centers were established, with a construction rate of 53%; and 5,776 nursing homes underwent reforms with "county-level management of township-level homes." There were also 16,000 rural extreme poverty support institutions and over 140,000 mutual-aid elderly care service facilities. Investment of 900 million yuan was allocated to support 50 project areas in building home-based elderly care beds. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, a cumulative total of 570,000 home-based elderly care beds were built, providing 30 million home-based care service visits. Efforts to promote the construction of elderly care service facilities in urban residential areas led to the renovation of 27,100 old urban residential communities in 2025, with the addition of over 4,300 various community service facilities, including those for elderly care.