The graph above demonstrates the changes in the number of people grouped by different intervals of ages in China since 1960 and including a forecast to 2050. Overall, people aged between 15 and 64 are the most populated group in China while it is expected that the number of elderly people will exceed that of children who are aged between 0 and 14.
In 1960, about one in every two people in China was a child, at 47.5%, followed by the group of people aged between 15 and 64 and the elderly people, accounting for 37.5% and 5% of the population respectively. The population of working-age surpassed the number of children in 1970 to become the most populated group in China. Ever since then, a considerable increment can be observed in the indicator of people aged from 15 to 64, reaching its peak at 70 percent. On the other hand, the percentage of the youngest group in China has consistently been decreasing to the point where the gap between the number of them and that of people aged over 65 has been declined to 10%.
Despite the population of adult people doubled, it is prognosed that a moderate decrease of 22.5% will be observed in this group by 2050 due to the decrease in the number of children, resulting in less number of people to grow and adult people to age and move from the title of adult to that of elder. Because of that, people aged over 65 are expected to outnumber children in 2040, indicating a quarter of population by 2050.