China Demographics: Median age, Gender, Race, Religion

Median age history and projection chart in
China vs World

Table

Year	Median age
	China	World
1960	20.9	22.5
1961	21.1	22.5
1962	21	22.4
1963	20.4	22.2
1964	19.9	22
1965	19.6	21.8
1966	19.3	21.7
1967	19.2	21.6
1968	19.2	21.5
1969	19.1	21.5
1970	19.1	21.4
1971	19.2	21.4
1972	19.3	21.5
1973	19.5	21.5
1974	19.7	21.6
1975	20.1	21.7
1976	20.4	21.9
1977	20.8	22
1978	21.2	22.2
1979	21.4	22.3
1980	21.6	22.5
1981	21.8	22.6
1982	22.1	22.7
1983	22.6	22.9
1984	23	23
1985	23.2	23.2
1986	23.4	23.3
1987	23.6	23.4
1988	23.9	23.6
1989	24.4	23.8
1990	24.7	23.9
1991	25.1	24.1
1992	25.6	24.3
1993	26.1	24.5
1994	26.6	24.7
1995	27.2	25
1996	27.8	25.2
1997	28.3	25.4
1998	28.8	25.7
1999	29.4	25.9
2000	30	26.1
2001	30.5	26.3
2002	31.1	26.5
2003	31.6	26.7
2004	32.1	27
2005	32.6	27.2
2006	33.1	27.4
2007	33.7	27.6
2008	34.2	27.8
2009	34.7	28
2010	35.1	28.2
2011	35.5	28.4
2012	35.7	28.6
2013	36	28.9
2014	36.3	29.1
2015	36.7	29.3
2016	37.1	29.5
2017	37.4	29.8
2018	37.7	30
2019	38.1	30.3
2020	38.5	30.6
2021	39	30.8
2022	39.6	31
2023	40.1	31.3
2024	40.6	31.6
2025	41.1	31.9
2026	41.7	32.1
2027	42.2	32.3
2028	42.8	32.6
2029	43.3	32.8
2030	43.9	33
2031	44.5	33.2
2032	45.1	33.4
2033	45.7	33.6
2034	46.3	33.8
2035	46.8	34
2036	47.4	34.2
2037	47.9	34.4
2038	48.5	34.6
2039	49.1	34.8
2040	49.6	35
2041	50.1	35.2
2042	50.5	35.4
2043	50.9	35.6
2044	51.3	35.8
2045	51.6	36
2046	52	36.2
2047	52.3	36.4
2048	52.6	36.6
2049	52.9	36.8
2050	53.1	37.1

In 1960, the median age in China was 20.9 years compared to the world's average of 22.5 years. As of 2024, the median age had increased to 40.6 years compared to the world's average of 31.6 years. Ranked 75th for median age 64 years ago (old to young), China ranks 44th currently.

According to the United Nations projections, the median age in China is expected to increase to around 53.1 years by 2050. The aging demographics forecast is based on previous years' birth rates and increasing life expectancy.

China demographic pyramid: age and gender distribution

Table

Age range	Share of population
	China
	Male	Female
0-4	1.93%	1.73%
5-9	3.2%	2.8%
10-14	3.41%	2.93%
15-19	3.16%	2.7%
20-24	3.02%	2.58%
25-29	3.18%	2.77%
30-34	3.94%	3.53%
35-39	4.3%	3.98%
40-44	3.63%	3.44%
45-49	3.38%	3.26%
50-54	4.26%	4.19%
55-59	4.02%	4.06%
60-64	2.91%	3.02%
65-69	2.49%	2.74%
70-74	2%	2.38%
75-79	1.14%	1.4%
80+	0.98%	1.54%

The chart above is a variation of the population pyramid and represents the age and gender structure. China has low demographic potential with 40.9% of people in the 0-34 age group (ranked 159/196).

Age dependency chart

Table

Year	Age dependency ratio
	China			World
	Total	Young	Old	Total	Young	Old
1960	79.5%	72.4%	7.12%	73.5%	64.9%	8.62%
1961	78%	71.1%	6.91%	73.8%	65.1%	8.67%
1962	77.9%	71.1%	6.8%	74.1%	65.4%	8.73%
1963	79.7%	72.9%	6.75%	74.9%	66.1%	8.79%
1964	81.5%	74.8%	6.69%	75.5%	66.6%	8.85%
1965	82.2%	75.5%	6.64%	75.8%	66.8%	8.93%
1966	82.3%	75.7%	6.62%	75.9%	66.9%	9%
1967	81.5%	74.9%	6.61%	75.9%	66.8%	9.07%
1968	80.8%	74.2%	6.62%	75.8%	66.6%	9.14%
1969	80.6%	74%	6.65%	75.7%	66.5%	9.2%
1970	80.2%	73.5%	6.68%	75.5%	66.2%	9.26%
1971	79.8%	73.1%	6.72%	75.2%	65.9%	9.33%
1972	79.1%	72.4%	6.76%	74.9%	65.6%	9.39%
1973	78.5%	71.7%	6.81%	74.6%	65.1%	9.46%
1974	78.7%	71.8%	6.94%	74.4%	64.9%	9.54%
1975	79.2%	72.1%	7.08%	74.2%	64.6%	9.64%
1976	79.5%	72.3%	7.21%	74%	64.3%	9.72%
1977	78.3%	71%	7.29%	73.5%	63.7%	9.79%
1978	74.7%	67.4%	7.3%	72.4%	62.5%	9.84%
1979	71%	63.6%	7.33%	71.3%	61.4%	9.88%
1980	68%	60.7%	7.39%	70.4%	60.5%	9.89%
1981	65.5%	58%	7.43%	69.5%	59.6%	9.85%
1982	63.5%	56%	7.48%	68.7%	58.9%	9.79%
1983	61.3%	53.8%	7.52%	67.9%	58.1%	9.72%
1984	58.7%	51.2%	7.54%	67%	57.3%	9.68%
1985	56.5%	48.9%	7.58%	66.3%	56.6%	9.68%
1986	54.7%	47%	7.65%	65.7%	55.9%	9.71%
1987	53.5%	45.8%	7.72%	65.2%	55.4%	9.75%
1988	52.6%	44.7%	7.81%	64.8%	54.9%	9.81%
1989	51.9%	44%	7.95%	64.4%	54.5%	9.89%
1990	51.8%	43.7%	8.12%	64.2%	54.3%	9.97%
1991	51.7%	43.5%	8.27%	64%	53.9%	10.1%
1992	51.5%	43%	8.45%	63.7%	53.6%	10.2%
1993	51.2%	42.6%	8.66%	63.5%	53.2%	10.3%
1994	50.9%	42%	8.88%	63.1%	52.7%	10.4%
1995	50.3%	41.2%	9.1%	62.7%	52.2%	10.5%
1996	49.6%	40.3%	9.32%	62.1%	51.5%	10.6%
1997	48.7%	39.2%	9.52%	61.5%	50.8%	10.7%
1998	47.8%	38%	9.76%	60.7%	50%	10.7%
1999	47%	37%	10%	60%	49.2%	10.8%
2000	46.1%	35.9%	10.3%	59.3%	48.4%	10.9%
2001	45%	34.5%	10.5%	58.5%	47.6%	11%
2002	43.5%	32.9%	10.6%	57.8%	46.7%	11.1%
2003	42.1%	31.3%	10.8%	57%	45.9%	11.1%
2004	40.7%	29.8%	10.9%	56.3%	45.1%	11.2%
2005	39.2%	28.3%	11%	55.6%	44.3%	11.3%
2006	38.2%	27.1%	11.1%	55%	43.6%	11.4%
2007	37.7%	26.4%	11.3%	54.5%	43.1%	11.4%
2008	37.4%	25.9%	11.5%	54.1%	42.6%	11.5%
2009	37.3%	25.6%	11.7%	53.8%	42.2%	11.6%
2010	37.2%	25.4%	11.9%	53.5%	41.9%	11.6%
2011	37.4%	25.2%	12.2%	53.4%	41.6%	11.8%
2012	37.7%	25.2%	12.5%	53.3%	41.4%	11.9%
2013	38.2%	25.3%	12.9%	53.4%	41.2%	12.1%
2014	38.9%	25.5%	13.4%	53.5%	41.1%	12.4%
2015	39.6%	25.6%	14%	53.6%	40.9%	12.7%
2016	40.4%	25.7%	14.7%	53.7%	40.7%	13%
2017	41.5%	26%	15.5%	53.9%	40.6%	13.3%
2018	42.5%	26.1%	16.4%	54.1%	40.4%	13.7%
2019	43.4%	26.1%	17.3%	54.2%	40.1%	14%
2020	44.1%	25.9%	18.2%	54.2%	39.8%	14.4%
2021	44.5%	25.4%	19.1%	54.2%	39.5%	14.7%
2022	44.7%	24.8%	19.9%	54%	39%	15%
2023	44.7%	24%	20.7%	53.9%	38.5%	15.4%
2024	44.2%	23.1%	21.2%	53.7%	38%	15.7%

Age dependency is the ratio of people not in the labor force (children under 15 and adults 64+) to people aged 15 to 64. Age dependency in China increased from 40.7% to 44.2% between 2004 and 2024 with a decreased share of children and an increased proportion of people aged 65+

China working age demographic chart

Table

Year	Working age population share
	China	World
1960	55.7%	57.6%
1961	56.2%	57.5%
1962	56.2%	57.4%
1963	55.6%	57.2%
1964	55.1%	57%
1965	54.9%	56.9%
1966	54.9%	56.8%
1967	55.1%	56.9%
1968	55.3%	56.9%
1969	55.4%	56.9%
1970	55.5%	57%
1971	55.6%	57.1%
1972	55.8%	57.2%
1973	56%	57.3%
1974	56%	57.3%
1975	55.8%	57.4%
1976	55.7%	57.5%
1977	56.1%	57.7%
1978	57.3%	58%
1979	58.5%	58.4%
1980	59.5%	58.7%
1981	60.4%	59%
1982	61.2%	59.3%
1983	62%	59.6%
1984	63%	59.9%
1985	63.9%	60.1%
1986	64.6%	60.4%
1987	65.2%	60.5%
1988	65.6%	60.7%
1989	65.8%	60.8%
1990	65.9%	60.9%
1991	65.9%	61%
1992	66%	61.1%
1993	66.1%	61.2%
1994	66.3%	61.3%
1995	66.5%	61.5%
1996	66.8%	61.7%
1997	67.3%	61.9%
1998	67.7%	62.2%
1999	68%	62.5%
2000	68.4%	62.8%
2001	69%	63.1%
2002	69.7%	63.4%
2003	70.4%	63.7%
2004	71.1%	64%
2005	71.8%	64.3%
2006	72.4%	64.5%
2007	72.6%	64.7%
2008	72.8%	64.9%
2009	72.9%	65%
2010	72.9%	65.1%
2011	72.8%	65.2%
2012	72.6%	65.2%
2013	72.3%	65.2%
2014	72%	65.2%
2015	71.6%	65.1%
2016	71.2%	65.1%
2017	70.7%	65%
2018	70.2%	64.9%
2019	69.7%	64.9%
2020	69.4%	64.8%
2021	69.2%	64.9%
2022	69.1%	64.9%
2023	69.1%	65%
2024	69.3%	65.1%
2025	69.7%	65.2%
2026	70.1%	65.3%
2027	70.3%	65.4%
2028	70.1%	65.4%
2029	69.8%	65.4%
2030	69.5%	65.4%
2031	69.3%	65.4%
2032	69.2%	65.4%
2033	68.9%	65.4%
2034	68.3%	65.3%
2035	67.7%	65.2%
2036	66.9%	65%
2037	66.1%	64.9%
2038	65.3%	64.7%
2039	64.6%	64.6%
2040	64%	64.5%
2041	63.5%	64.4%
2042	63.1%	64.3%
2043	62.7%	64.2%
2044	62.2%	64.1%
2045	61.8%	63.9%
2046	61.3%	63.8%
2047	60.7%	63.7%
2048	60.2%	63.6%
2049	59.7%	63.4%
2050	59.1%	63.3%

The share of working-age demographics aged 15-64 in China changed from 71.1% to 69.3% between 2004 and 2024.

Share of young population (0-14 years)

Table

Year	Share of population 0-14 years old
	China	World
1960	40.3%	37.4%
1961	40%	37.5%
1962	40%	37.6%
1963	40.6%	37.8%
1964	41.2%	38%
1965	41.5%	38%
1966	41.5%	38%
1967	41.3%	38%
1968	41%	37.9%
1969	41%	37.8%
1970	40.8%	37.7%
1971	40.7%	37.6%
1972	40.4%	37.5%
1973	40.1%	37.3%
1974	40.2%	37.2%
1975	40.2%	37.1%
1976	40.3%	36.9%
1977	39.8%	36.7%
1978	38.6%	36.3%
1979	37.2%	35.9%
1980	36.1%	35.5%
1981	35.1%	35.2%
1982	34.3%	34.9%
1983	33.3%	34.6%
1984	32.2%	34.3%
1985	31.2%	34%
1986	30.4%	33.8%
1987	29.8%	33.6%
1988	29.3%	33.4%
1989	28.9%	33.2%
1990	28.8%	33%
1991	28.6%	32.9%
1992	28.4%	32.7%
1993	28.2%	32.5%
1994	27.8%	32.3%
1995	27.4%	32.1%
1996	27%	31.8%
1997	26.3%	31.5%
1998	25.7%	31.1%
1999	25.2%	30.8%
2000	24.5%	30.4%
2001	23.8%	30%
2002	22.9%	29.6%
2003	22%	29.2%
2004	21.2%	28.8%
2005	20.3%	28.5%
2006	19.6%	28.1%
2007	19.2%	27.9%
2008	18.9%	27.6%
2009	18.6%	27.5%
2010	18.5%	27.3%
2011	18.3%	27.1%
2012	18.3%	27%
2013	18.3%	26.9%
2014	18.3%	26.8%
2015	18.3%	26.6%
2016	18.3%	26.5%
2017	18.4%	26.4%
2018	18.3%	26.2%
2019	18.2%	26%
2020	18%	25.8%
2021	17.6%	25.6%
2022	17.1%	25.3%
2023	16.6%	25%
2024	16%	24.7%
2025	15.4%	24.4%
2026	14.8%	24.1%
2027	14.1%	23.8%
2028	13.5%	23.4%
2029	12.8%	23.1%
2030	12.1%	22.8%
2031	11.5%	22.6%
2032	10.8%	22.3%
2033	10.3%	22.1%
2034	9.83%	21.9%
2035	9.53%	21.7%
2036	9.37%	21.6%
2037	9.31%	21.5%
2038	9.31%	21.4%
2039	9.34%	21.3%
2040	9.38%	21.2%
2041	9.43%	21.1%
2042	9.49%	21%
2043	9.56%	21%
2044	9.63%	20.9%
2045	9.71%	20.8%
2046	9.78%	20.7%
2047	9.85%	20.7%
2048	9.9%	20.6%
2049	9.93%	20.5%
2050	9.94%	20.4%

The share of children aged 0-14 in China decreased from 21.2% to 16% between 2004 and 2024 due to changes in birth rates.

Share of old population (65+)

Table

Year	Share of population 65+ years old
	China	World
1960	3.97%	4.97%
1961	3.88%	4.99%
1962	3.82%	5.01%
1963	3.76%	5.02%
1964	3.69%	5.04%
1965	3.65%	5.08%
1966	3.63%	5.12%
1967	3.64%	5.16%
1968	3.66%	5.2%
1969	3.68%	5.24%
1970	3.71%	5.28%
1971	3.74%	5.32%
1972	3.77%	5.37%
1973	3.82%	5.42%
1974	3.88%	5.47%
1975	3.95%	5.53%
1976	4.02%	5.59%
1977	4.09%	5.65%
1978	4.18%	5.71%
1979	4.29%	5.77%
1980	4.4%	5.81%
1981	4.49%	5.81%
1982	4.58%	5.8%
1983	4.66%	5.79%
1984	4.75%	5.8%
1985	4.85%	5.82%
1986	4.94%	5.86%
1987	5.03%	5.91%
1988	5.12%	5.95%
1989	5.23%	6.01%
1990	5.35%	6.07%
1991	5.45%	6.14%
1992	5.58%	6.21%
1993	5.73%	6.29%
1994	5.89%	6.37%
1995	6.05%	6.45%
1996	6.23%	6.53%
1997	6.4%	6.61%
1998	6.6%	6.68%
1999	6.81%	6.76%
2000	7.02%	6.84%
2001	7.21%	6.92%
2002	7.4%	7.01%
2003	7.58%	7.1%
2004	7.74%	7.18%
2005	7.89%	7.26%
2006	8.05%	7.34%
2007	8.21%	7.41%
2008	8.36%	7.47%
2009	8.5%	7.52%
2010	8.66%	7.58%
2011	8.86%	7.66%
2012	9.09%	7.78%
2013	9.36%	7.92%
2014	9.67%	8.08%
2015	10.1%	8.26%
2016	10.5%	8.45%
2017	11%	8.65%
2018	11.5%	8.88%
2019	12.1%	9.1%
2020	12.6%	9.33%
2021	13.2%	9.53%
2022	13.8%	9.74%
2023	14.3%	9.98%
2024	14.7%	10.2%
2025	14.9%	10.4%
2026	15.1%	10.6%
2027	15.6%	10.8%
2028	16.5%	11.1%
2029	17.5%	11.5%
2030	18.3%	11.7%
2031	19.2%	12%
2032	20%	12.3%
2033	20.9%	12.6%
2034	21.8%	12.8%
2035	22.8%	13.1%
2036	23.7%	13.4%
2037	24.6%	13.7%
2038	25.3%	13.9%
2039	26%	14.1%
2040	26.6%	14.3%
2041	27.1%	14.5%
2042	27.5%	14.7%
2043	27.8%	14.9%
2044	28.1%	15%
2045	28.5%	15.2%
2046	28.9%	15.4%
2047	29.4%	15.7%
2048	29.9%	15.9%
2049	30.4%	16.1%
2050	30.9%	16.3%

The share of older people aged 65 and over in China increased from 7.74% to 14.7% between 2004 and 2024 due to changes in life expectancy.