Final answer:
The statement that China has the highest percentage of its population aged 65 and older is false. Nations like Japan have higher proportions of elderly in their population. China's elderly population is growing, which will have a significant impact on the country's dependency ratio and economic development.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that the country with the highest percentage of its population aged 65 and older is China is false. Currently, countries like Japan and Italy have a higher percentage of their population aged 65 and older compared to China. The aging population in China does present significant concerns for the future, especially regarding the dependency ratio and its impact on the labor force and economic growth. With approximately 13.3 percent of its population already over the age of 60, China is experiencing rapid aging, but it has not yet reached the proportion of elderly found in some developed nations.
By 2050, it is anticipated that nearly a third of China’s population will be aged 60 or older, challenging both societal structures and economic systems. This change also reflects broader demographic shifts globally, where nations are seeing a greater share of elderly individuals. Economically developed countries tend to have a fairly even distribution of age groups or a larger proportion of the elderly, while undeveloped countries typically have younger populations with a larger share of children compared to elderly individuals. Thus, the aging crisis is not unique to China, but part of a global trend of rising numbers of elderly individuals that could reshape economies and communities.