Once touted by the Chinese Communist Party as China’s “model county in family planning” in the 1970s and 1980s, Rudong County in eastern China’s Jiangsu Province has now become the Chinese county with the oldest population, with 39 percent of its total population aged 60 or above.
Located in China’s eastern coastal region facing the mouth of the Yangtze River and Shanghai, Rudong County had a total population of 879,500 at the end of 2021—a decrease of 0.08 percent from the previous year, according to a statement released by the county government.
Of the total population, 71,700 are aged 0 to 14, accounting for 8.1 percent; 464,800 are aged 15 to 59, accounting for 52.9 percent; and 343,000 are aged 60 or above, accounting for 39.0 percent. The county’s birth rate is 4.07 per thousand, while the death rate is 12.64 per thousand. The natural population growth rate is -8.57 per thousand….