World Population Day

Chinese people above 60 years old will surpass 200 million by the end of 2013.

The World Population Day (世界人口日) is an annual event celebrated on July 11. According to an UN report, the world population will reach 7.2 billion by July 2013.

On July 11, 1987, the world population reaching 5 billion and the public's interest inspired the event. In 1989, in the hope of raising people's awareness on global issues, the event was established by the General Assembly of the United Nations.

A statistics bulletin released, on June 18, 2013, by China's National Health and Family Planning Commission showed that by the end of 2012, the total populations of China will stand at 1.354 billion with a sex ratio at birth of 117.70, down 0.08 compared to the previous year.

A report by the China Research Center for the Elderly, in early June 2013, shows that the number of Chinese people above 60 years old will surpass 200 million by the end of 2013, which represents almost 15 percent of the entire population. The figure will exceed 300 million by 2025 and 400 million by 2033, with an annual growth of 10 million.

Hou Yong, a senior official at the China Research Center for the Elderly, said that the Chinese government attaches a great importance to China's aging population. The government has made strategic decisions to positively respond to the issue. A series of people-oriented policies aim to fully protect the basic rights of the elderly, in order to realize a sustainable and coordinated development of the aging society and economy.

Themes of Past World Population Day:

2013 - Focus is on Adolescent Pregnancy

2012 - Universal Access to Reproductive Health Services

2011 - 7 Billion Actions

2010 - Be Counted: Say What You Need

2009 - Fight Poverty: Educate Girls

2008 - Plan Your Family, Plan Your Future

2007 - Men at Work

2006 - Being Young is Tough

2005 - Equality Empowers

2004 - ICPD at 10

2003 - 1,000,000,000 adolescents