(Yicai Global) July 13 -- Eleven out of 35 major Chinese cities have entered an advanced stage of ageing, which is when 14 percent or more of its population is older than 65, according to Yicai Global research.

Nantong in eastern Jiangsu province has the highest proportion of elderly people in China, with 22 percent of its population classed as senior citizens, well above the national average of 13.5 percent, and has entered super-aging status, according to an analysis of statistics from the seventh national population census whose results were released in May.

Chongqing municipality in southwestern China is the second oldest city with 17.08 percent of its population aged above 65, Dalian in northeastern Liaoning province is third with 16.87 percent and Shanghai is fourth with 16.3 percent.

Those cities that used to strictly implement the ‘one-child’ policy and those that started to urbanize first, such as Nantong, Chongqing and Dalian, have older populations, said Peng Peng, chief executive of Guangdong System Reform Research Society.

Shenzhen is China’s most youthful city with only 3.22 percent of its population over the age of 65, followed by the manufacturing hub Dongguan with 3.54 percent and Xiamen in neighboring Fujian province with 6.17 percent.

The southeastern coastal areas are developing rapidly and have a large demand for labor, resulting in a big inflow of young migrant workers, Ding Changfa, associate professor with the Department of Economics at Xiamen University, told Yicai Global. Also, the birthrate in these areas is low, he added.

Editor: Kim Taylor