Over the next five years, robots may rewrite the retirement script for 1.4 billion people

       Feeding robots, health-care robots, hygiene-care robots... More and more aging-in-place technological products are being used to care for disabled elderly people, supplementing the traditional model of family care.

I. China Enters a "Super-Aged" Society
       According to the statistics from the United Nations, China has entered a super-aged society. It is expected that by 2030, China will become one of the countries with the most severe aging problems globally—the population of China aged 65 and above will exceed 340 million, accounting for nearly 25% of the total population. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the annual growth rate of the elderly population aged 80 and above is 6%, which is much higher than the 0.3% growth rate of the total population.
The proportion of elderly people living alone is 21%
      According to the "Survey Report on Health Risks of the Elderly Living at Home," 21.38% of the elderly live alone in households with elderly people. Among them, over 30% of the elderly have been injured due to falls, which is the biggest safety hazard for the elderly living alone and one of the main causes of injury, disability, and death among the elderly.
Approximately 50 million disabled (demented) elderly people
      Due to the high-aged population being the group with the highest incidence of disability among the elderly population, with the increase in the number of high-aged elderly people, the number of disabled elderly people is also increasing rapidly. According to the data from the Ministry of Civil Affairs in September 2024, there are currently about 35 million disabled elderly people in China, accounting for 11.6% of the total elderly population. The disease prevalence rate among the elderly is four times the average level of the general population, and the time spent living with diseases is more than eight years. It is estimated that by 2035, the number of disabled elderly people in China will reach 46 million, and around 58 million by 2050.
High disability rate among the elderly
      According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, as of 2023, the total number of disabled people in China is approximately 85.914 million, accounting for 6.34% of the total population. Population aging has increased the probability of disability and the number of disabled people. Due to the decline in physiological functions, the elderly have a higher incidence and disability rate of cerebrovascular diseases, osteoarthritis, dementia, etc.
II. Traditional Care Methods are Weakening, and There is a Huge Gap Between Needs and Resource Allocation
      With the continuous deepening of population aging, the traditional family care model is gradually losing its former support. The "4-2-1" family structure is becoming increasingly common, and the burden of supporting parents on the only-child generation is unprecedentedly heavy; the large number of "empty nest families" further highlights the serious shortage of elderly care personnel.
      At the same time, the health problems of the elderly population, such as the high incidence of chronic diseases and the coexistence of multiple diseases, are becoming increasingly prominent. Disease care and daily care are intertwined, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to rely solely on the strength of the family.
However, the current supply of elderly care services is far from meeting the rapid growth in demand.
      The ratio of elderly care beds to elderly people is 26:1
      The "2023 National Report on the Development of the Elderly Cause" shows that by the end of 2023, there were 216.76 million people aged 65 and above in China, and a total of 404,000 various elderly care institutions and facilities with a total of 8.23 million elderly care beds. This means that the ratio of the elderly population to elderly care beds is 26:1.
      Huge shortage of care workers
      Due to heavy workloads and low salaries, in recent years, whether it is tertiary hospitals, home nannies, or institutional elderly care workers, there has been a phenomenon of difficulty in recruitment, high mobility, and high turnover.
According to data provided by relevant officials from the National Health Commission in 2021, there are approximately 45 million disabled and demented elderly people in China, and only 500,000 licensed elderly care workers. Even after considering family care resources, there is still a huge shortage of care workers.
Data shows that the number of elderly people in Shanghai's nursing homes currently exceeds 100,000, and nearly 400,000 elderly people need home-based services, while only over 60,000 elderly care workers are registered.
III. Policy Support Accelerates the Development of the Medical and Health Care Robotics Industry
      The "Opinions on Developing the Silver Hair Economy and Promoting the Well-being of the Elderly" issued by the General Office of the State Council in 2024 clearly proposed the goal of promoting the application of intelligent care robots, home service robots, and intelligent anti-loss terminals, aiming to promote the development of the elderly care robot industry towards scale and specialization through policy guidance and support.
      International standards for elderly care robots
      In January this year, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) announced the official release of an important standard—IEC 63310 "Performance Criteria for Active Assisted Living Robots Used in Interconnected Home Environments".
This standard was spearheaded by China and is the world's first international standard for elderly care robots. After the implementation of the international standard for elderly care robots, it will promote the standardized and standardized production of elderly care robot products, reduce research and development costs, and improve product reliability. It is expected that by 2030, the global elderly care robot market will exceed US$100 billion.
       Medical insurance coverage
      The National Healthcare Security Administration has included 29 rehabilitation projects in the medical insurance coverage, including projects related to rehabilitation robots. This will significantly reduce the medical burden on patients and improve the acceptance of the rehabilitation robot market.
       Robots entering elderly care institutions and hospitals
       The Chengdu Civil Affairs Bureau has released the first batch of scene requirement lists for entering elderly care institutions: covering many aspects, including aging-in-place display, daily care, rehabilitation care, safety patrols, and emotional companionship.
       The Chengdu Health Commission has released the first batch of "entering hospital" scenario opportunity lists for robots—covering Applications in hospital outpatient clinics, medical laboratories, in-hospital logistics, in-hospital guidance, rehabilitation, health emergency management, medical quality management, and treatment medical services.
IV. Robot Applications in Three Core Scenarios for Elderly Care
       Rehabilitation robots: Used for post-operative and chronic disease rehabilitation, assisting the elderly in gait training, limb exercises, and other rehabilitation training to improve rehabilitation efficiency and reduce the burden on medical staff. Suitable for nursing homes and home rehabilitation scenarios. ② Care robots: Undertake daily care tasks, such as transfer assistance, walking assistance, toileting assistance, bathing assistance, health monitoring, and emergency calls, improving service continuity and safety. ③ Companion robots: Provide emotional support and social interaction, can chat, remind to take medicine, and make video calls, alleviating the loneliness and anxiety of the elderly and improving their quality of life.
      In this technological battle against aging, robots are no longer just auxiliary tools; they are becoming the game-changers reshaping the medical and elderly care ecosystem. Caregivers are becoming increasingly expensive, while robots will become cheaper as their application scales. (Source: Zhuyitai Official WeChat)

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