China has a bad ratio of young people to old people. They have a lot of people, but as the population ages there will be fewer working people supporting more retired people. It’s not just about money either. There are a finite number of nurses or caretakers in a country at any given time, so it will mean higher ratio of people needing care to those able to give it. It’s a complex issue that almost every country is going to be dealing with more in the future, but China will probably feel it more than average.
Keep in mind China has a much tighter family structure where children look after their elderly parents (and often live under the same roof), and in return grandparents provide free childcare so both parents are able to work full time. Nursing homes are not incredibly common but it might become a bigger problem as more and more young people move away from their family in the countryside to work in the bigger cities.
really? that seems unsustainable, but would explain a few things I suppose.
Unsustainable??? Have you seen how many people there is in China? They could probably retire at 30 and still have enough people to fill in the jobs.
China has a bad ratio of young people to old people. They have a lot of people, but as the population ages there will be fewer working people supporting more retired people. It’s not just about money either. There are a finite number of nurses or caretakers in a country at any given time, so it will mean higher ratio of people needing care to those able to give it. It’s a complex issue that almost every country is going to be dealing with more in the future, but China will probably feel it more than average.
Keep in mind China has a much tighter family structure where children look after their elderly parents (and often live under the same roof), and in return grandparents provide free childcare so both parents are able to work full time. Nursing homes are not incredibly common but it might become a bigger problem as more and more young people move away from their family in the countryside to work in the bigger cities.