Beijing Projected to Become a Super-Aged City by 2035

What changed

Beijing is projected to become a “super-aged” city by 2035, with about one in three residents aged 60 or older. The shift is already visible: at the end of 2025, 5.29 million permanent residents were 60 or above, almost one-quarter of the capital’s population.

Why it matters

This is a city-scale warning about how quickly China’s demographic balance is changing. Beijing is raising the basic pension and expanding support for older residents, while national policymakers face a population that has been shrinking since 2022.

The pressure reaches beyond care for older people. Fewer workers and more pensioners can make it harder to lift consumption and contain public debt. Beijing’s 2035 milestone turns that long-term problem into a near-term planning deadline: more pension support, more elderly care and policies aimed at encouraging births will all compete for government attention and money.

The projection’s methodology is not specified, so the exact 2035 share could change. The direction, however, is already clear in the city’s current figures.