Beijing's elderly population surpasses 5 million for first time

Beijing's population of residents aged 60 and above reached 5.14 million in 2024, crossing the 5 million mark for the first time, according to a report released on Tuesday at the 2025 Beijing Sijiqing Forum on Elderly Care Industry Development.

The figure represents an increase of 192,000 from the previous year, Beijing Daily reported.

The report highlights the city's aging population. Older adults now make up 23.5 percent of Beijing's permanent residents, 1.5 percentage points above the national average.

Chaoyang, Haidian, and Fengtai districts recorded the largest numbers of elderly residents. At the same time, Xicheng, Mentougou, and Dongcheng had the highest shares, with seniors accounting for more than 30 percent of their populations.

Beijing is also experiencing an increase in the number of permanent residents aged 80 and above. This age bracket totals 687,000, accounting for 3.1 percent of the city's population, roughly in line with the national average.

In response to the demographic shift, the city has rolled out a series of policies in elderly care. By the end of 2024, it had established 105 regional senior care service centers, benefiting 1.55 million seniors, including 267,000 over 80.

In addition, 9,829 new home-based care beds were added, bringing the total number of such beds in operation to approximately 27,000.

As of December 2024, Beijing had 577 senior care institutions providing 108,000 beds, with 52,000 people living in these facilities.