China’s elderly dependents surpass children

China's old-age dependency ratio reached 23.1 percent in 2025, surpassing the child dependency ratio of 22 percent for the first time, as reported on Oct 28, 2026. Data from China's National Bureau of Statistics showed more than 223 million people in China aged 65 and above compared with around 213 million children aged 14 and under. The old-age dependency ratio was 15 percent in 2016 and rose to more than 20 percent in 2021. China's population fell for a fourth straight year in 2025 as its birth rate dropped to a record low. The one-child policy was in place from 1980 to 2015. The data was reported by Chinese state-affiliated media Yicai and carried in a Reuters story dated Oct 28, 2026. WHAT'S CONTESTED: The record shows no dispute over these figures.