The new middle-class population in China has the following characteristics: Age: individuals between 25 and 40 years old. City: living in third-tier cities and above.
The most common definition currently seen in China is the scope set by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which defines the “middle-income group” as a typical three-person household that earns between RMB 100,000 to RMB 500,000 (approx. US$14,844 to US$74,221 in 2022) per year.
Using $2–$20 (purchasing power parity) per capita daily income as the definition of middle class, majority of households in the People's Republic of China (PRC) have become middle class by 2007, which is especially impressive given that around 40% of households were still considered poor in 1991.
The report predicts that, from 2022 to 2030, China's middle and upper classes will increase by over 80 million to account for 40 percent of the country's total population; 70 percent of this affluent demographic will be located in third or lower-tier cities.
Chart and table of China life expectancy from 1950 to 2023. United Nations projections are also included through the year 2100. The current life expectancy for China in 2023 is 77.47 years, a 0.22% increase from 2022. The life expectancy for China in 2022 was 77.30 years, a 0.22% increase from 2021.
Credit Suisse found China's median wealth outpaced Europe's in its 2021 Global Wealth Report. The average Chinese citizen has a wealth of $26,752, around $60 more than the average European. Chinese wealth has surged in the past two decades, with median wealth per adult growing more than eight-fold.
As of 2021, the bulk of the Chinese population was aged between 25 and 59 years, amounting to more than half of the population.
The top class was the emperor and his immediate family. After that came the gentry (officials all the government). Next came the agriculturalists, landlords, farmers and peasants. Then the artisans and merchants.
Many countries face an increasingly ageing population, but China is now home to the largest population of older people in the world. In 2019, 254 million people in China were aged 60 years or older. By 2040, this number is expected to increase to 402 million, making up around 28% of the population.
Median salary
The median salary in China is 26,800 Yuan (USD 3,855) per month. That means half of the population draws an average income less than the median salary. In contrast, the other half earns more than the median salary.
This statistic illustrates the distribution of adult population in China in 2020 by wealth range group. That year, approximately 12.5 percent of adults in China had wealth of 100,000 to one million U.S. dollars. In comparison, around 54.3 percent of adult population in Hong Kong were in this wealth range group.
Twelve percent of China's population is age 65 or above. That share is 16 percent in the United States, 6 percent in India, and 3 percent in Nigeria.
Bad Luck in Age Difference
But in Chinese culture, there's a superstition about the age difference. It's bad luck to date or marry someone with an age difference of either 3 or 6 years from you, older or younger. So if you're 25, you shouldn't date someone who is 22 or 31.
There were four social classes in ancient China including noble, farmers or peasants, artisans or craftsmen, and merchants. The four social classes were based on the teachings of Confucius. The four social classes were to allow people to live in harmony and balance.
The Gong class consisted of Artisans and craftsman. They were higher in position than that of the merchants. They also had a significant role for the country. This class was the lowest in the Chinese social hierarchy because they didn't produce anything and gained profit from other organizations.
When did the one-child policy end? The end of China's one-child policy was announced in late 2015, and it formally ended in 2016. Beginning in 2016, the Chinese government allowed all families to have two children, and in 2021 all married couples were permitted to have as many as three children.
Getting older: In 2020, the median age in China (38.4 years) surpassed that of the United States for the first time in modern history. In 1978, China's median age was a young 21.5 years.
Race & Ethnicity
The largest China racial/ethnic groups are White (96.9%) followed by Hispanic (1.7%) and Black (0.8%).
Australia has a GDP per capita of $48,700 as of 2020, while in China, the GDP per capita is $16,400 as of 2020.
Australians are the richest people in the world, with a median wealth three times that of the average American, a new report has shown.
On a mean wealth basis, Australia was the fourth-richest country in 2021 behind Switzerland, the US and Hong Kong. The average Australian adult was worth $US550,110 at the end of last year, after enjoying a $US66,350 annual increase in wealth.
The line graph shows that the percentage of the Australian population aged 65 and over has increased, from 4.6% in 1922 to 16.2% in 2021. The percentage of older Australians in the population is set to continue increasing to approximately 20.7% in 2066, with particular growth between 2009 and 2029.