By 2050, the number of people over the age of 80 will be more than 80 million, seven times the present figure, said Prof. Wu Cangping at a seminar on gerontics in the port city of Qingdao, Wednesday.

“At that time, China will have 470,000 centenarians, ranking first in the world,” he said.

In 1953, China conducted its first census, finding that the country had 3,384 centenarians. The number in 1990 was 6,681.

Wu said that being a fragile group in society, the aged will find that the income gap between them and the young will widen further.

“This will affect coordination between the old and the young and the overall progress of society,” he said.

The number of people of longevity may be much higher than expected with the advancement of medical science, he said.

(21dnn.com 10/20/2000)