Seniors who live in the Tibet Autonomous Region are the happiest in China, says a report issued by the China Research Centre on Aging on Tuesday.
The report, entitled ‘Aging blue book: a survey report on the living conditions of elderly people in urban and rural areas in China 2018’, is based on statistics from the fourth survey of the living conditions experienced by the country's ageing population, which was conducted in 2015.
According to the report, the sense of happiness felt by China's seniors has improved significantly: 84.3 percent of seniors in the Tibet Autonomous Region feel happy, followed by those in Tianjin at 79.7%, Beijing at 78.5%, Qinghai Province at 71.1% and Zhejiang Province at 70.7%.
In terms of the economic situation of old age pensioners, the report mentions that the income of seniors in urban and rural areas has grown steadily, but that the income gap is still large.
In 2014, the average income of elderly people living in urban China was 23,930 yuan per year or around US$3,768, 3.24 times the amount recorded in 2000, while that of their contemporaries based in rural areas was 7,621 yuan per year or around US$1,200 - 4.62 times that of 2000.
However, the report pointed out several age-related problems currently facing China, such as the continuously increasing number of elderly people and overall low income.
By the end of 2017, China had 241 million people aged 60 and over, accounting for 17.3% of the country's total population.
(Source: Jiangsu International Channel)
