Preparing for aging nation

National census shows China needs to adjust its social and economic policies to address changes in society

The results of China's sixth national population census show that the total population in the Chinese mainland was about 1.34 billion by the end of 2010. This, together with other indicators drawn from the census, should serve as important references for making future population policies and relevant social and economic policies.

One such indicator is the education level, which, according to the census, has remarkably improved in the Chinese mainland since 2000. For instance, the number of people with a university education has increased from 3,611 people out of every 100,000 to 8,930, indicating an annual average growth far exceeding the annual average population growth of 0.57 percent over the past decade.