Beijing's permanent population of more than 15 million appears to be aging, as the percentage of elderly people has increased while the number of children has declined.

Experts define an aging society as one with more than 7 percent of its population aged above 65. A survey found Beijing has 1.66 million residents over 65, making up 10.8 percent of the permanent population.

It is an increase of 2.37 persentage points from five years previously, according to Xinhua News Agency.

The survey, conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics, also found the city had 1.57 million children under the age of 14 at the end of 2005, accounting for 10.2 percent of its permanent population.

This is down by 3.38 persentage points from the 2000 figure.

The number of women in the Chinese capital is rising, given the fact women have a longer life expectancy than men.

The city has 7.58 million women and 7.78 million men, the survey said. The female to male resident ratio has increased 6.4 persentage points than that in 2000.

Other findings from the survey on Beijing's population changes from 2000-05 are:

The capital city's permanent population jumped 1.54 million since 2000.

Nearly 77 percent of the city's permanent population, or 11.8 million people, are holders of the Beijing "hukou," the official permanent household registration certificate, up 1.3 percent annually.

Residents living in Beijing for more than half a year but without a permanent household registration saw an annual average increase of 6.9 percent.

(China Daily April 20, 2006)