ABSTRACT
Changes in population age structure in Asia and the Pacific have been very dramatic over the last few decades and are certain to be so in the future. The changes in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) have been particularly rapid but are nonetheless illustrative of the changes experienced elsewhere. In 1990, the population of the PRC was heavily concentrated at young ages with just over half of its people under the age of 25. Because of rapid fertility decline before and after 1990, the share of children in the population dropped to 35% in 2010. This will continue over the coming decades until by 2050 about 25% of the population will be under 25 years of age.
