Is China’s urban–rural difference in population aging rational? An international comparison with key indicators

Abstract

AbstractChina's aging population is experiencing an urban–rural inversion phenomenon in that the rural population is aging faster. This is normal worldwide as studies have found that urban–rural differences in population aging have universal and phase characteristics. However, China's population aging presents a “polarization trend,” that is, the aging speed of areas with a deep aging degree is faster. In this paper, we try to test whether China's current urban–rural difference in population aging is rational if considered with China's current economic and social development. We adopted the four‐quadrant map analysis method and compare China with major developed and developing countries with key indicators. Data were mainly collected from databases by country, including the Statistical Yearbook, World Bank Database, and United Nations Database. Results show that urban–rural differences in China's aging population are significantly ahead of economic development and urbanization; this imbalance can explain the greater urban–rural disparity and the “polarization trend” in China's population. Results indicate that population aging's urban–rural differences are not necessarily exhibiting universal and phased characteristics in China. What's worse, the imbalanced population aging situation will make the rural poverty and the inter‐generational conflict more prominently. Public policies are necessary to deal with the current imbalance situation.