Population Ageing in Mainland China. Does the Measure Matter?

Abstract The study aims to answer the following question: Does using different measures to assess population ageing lead to the same conclusions? The study evaluates the advancement of ageing in mainland China using selected conventional measures based on chronological age and the prospective age measures in which changes in life expectancy are considered. The conventional oldage dependency ratio and the prospective old-age dependency ratio, as well as the conventional median age and the prospective median age were calculated and compared in two versions. Conventional measures reveal a very unfavourable trends in China’s population ageing and indicate that a faster increase in life expectancy leads to a faster population ageing. Prospective measures show a more moderate increase resulting from longer life expectancy. The use of both, conventional and prospective measures provide a more accurate understanding of ageing, which is essential for effective policy and social planning.