Beijing population graying rapidly

BEIJING - The Beijing government expects 30 percent of the city's population to be aged 60 or above by 2030.

By the end of 2015, the elderly took up 23.4 percent of the city's registered population, Li Hongbing, deputy head of the Beijing Civil Affairs Bureau, was quoted as saying by the Beijing Daily on Thursday.

Li said one in three registered Beijing citizens will be over 60 in 2050.

It is estimated that the city currently has 600,000 seniors with physical disabilities and 100,000 with mental disabilities.

In 2020, the city will pay out 200 billion yuan ($30.7 billion) in old-age pensions and the amount is expected to surge to 670 billion in 2030, Li said.

This year, the local government will roll out a 2016-2020 plan on the development of elderly care and a guideline on the development of industries targeting the elderly.