Senior citizens sleep at a daytime service center in Shanghai in April, 2012. (Photo: Xinhua/Niu Yixin)
More than 21 percent of the registered population in the northern industrial hub of Tianjin were 60 years old or more at the end of 2014, statistics showed Wednesday.
The number of people aged 60 or above in the city rose by 145,700 from 2013 to 2.154 million at the end of 2014, accounting for 21.18 percent of the registered population, according to figures released by the city's aging office.
"According to local government data, Tianjin's aging level is ranked third in the country following Shanghai and Beijing," said Guo Ning, deputy head of the office.
There were 358 centenarians in the city at the end of 2014, according to the office.
Among those above 60, more than 140,000 were unable to care for themselves, said Guo.
The number of people aged 60 or above in Shanghai reached 3.88 million at the end of 2013, or 27 percent of the registered population, according to figures released by the city's civil affairs authority.
China's population is aging rapidly, 202 million people, or 14.9 percent of the total population, were at least 60 years old by the end of 2013, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
This number is expected to exceed 300 million by 2025, according to the ministry.
