Aged Care in China

1. In 2014 212 million people in China were aged over 60.[1] The number is expected to rise to 480 million by 2050.[2]

2. In 2014 there were 34,000 aged care organisations in China. Within the total health care system 5.5 million beds were allocated to aged care.[3] This equates to 26 beds for every 1000 older people.[4] In comparison the Australian Government aims to allocate 125 beds for every 1000 older people in order to meet the needs of Australia’s ageing population by 2022.[5]

3. China’s nursing homes have an occupancy rate of 52 percent.[6] This compares with Australia’s occupancy rate of 93 percent.[7]

4. In 2014 only 2.8 million people in China used aged care facilities.[8] Reasons cited for the under use include the long-distances from urban centres and high cost for pensioners.[9]

5. China’s middle-income earners find high-end aged care services too expensive and lower end services too basic. Ms Kong Wei from the China National Committee on Ageing said: “Many nursing homes built in recent years are aimed at the high-end market, because they charge more, recover their investment sooner and generate profits more quickly”. There is a gap in the market for middle-range, affordable aged care facilities.[10]

6. In 2014 China had 2.9 million registered nurses.[11] The number of nurses in China per capita is 1.8 per 1000 people. This compares with an average of 8.8 nurses for every 1000 people in OECD countries.[12]  

7. On October 29 China abolished its ‘One Child Policy’ stating that: “The change of policy is intended to balance population development and address the challenge of an ageing population”.[13] Experts quoted in The New York Times warned that the change in policy would be unlikely to address China’s demographic concerns in the short to medium term.[14]

8. Under the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Australia can establish wholly owned aged care institutions in China.[15] It is China’s first FTA to include this provision. However on November 24 2014 China announced that foreign investors could establish wholly owned, for-profit elderly care institutions in China, meaning this provision does not give Australia a distinct advantage.[16]

Author

Hannah Bretherton, Institute Assistant, Australia-China Relations Institute, University of Technology Sydney