A report released by the Shaanxi Provincial Department of Civil Affairs on July 27 reveals that, as of the end of 2025, the province's population aged 60 and above reached 9.14 million, accounting for 23.22% of the permanent residents, an increase of 270,000 from the previous year. In response to the growing challenge of an aging population, Shaanxi is leveraging both institutional innovation and industrial synergy to continuously enhance the sense of fulfillment, security, and happiness among its elderly.
In 2025, the provincial government issued a series of documents to promote high-quality development in civil affairs and strengthen sports activities for the elderly. The provincial committee on aging expanded to include 45 member units, rolling out 23 supporting measures for aging work and an implementation plan for senior education. Innovative initiatives were launched, including a "five-bed linkage" model for integrating medical and elderly care, financial support for the silver economy, and 10 measures to boost consumption in elderly services, forming a collaborative governance framework across provincial and city levels.
The social security net for the elderly is becoming increasingly robust. Basic pension insurance coverage reached 32.03 million people, with enterprise annuities, personal pensions, and commercial pension finance expanding in tandem. The minimum standard for basic pension benefits in urban and rural areas was raised to 198 yuan per month. Basic medical insurance coverage remained stable at around 95%. As a pilot city for the national long-term care insurance program, Hanzhong covered 413,900 participants, with over 4,000 elderly individuals already receiving benefits. Subsidies for low-income households, extreme poverty, and old-age allowances were precisely distributed, with 3.2 billion yuan in high-age allowances benefiting more than 4.14 million seniors.
Urban and rural elderly care service supply is expanding and improving in quality. The province established 20,000 home-based care beds and 4,929 community dining centers for seniors, with coverage of street and township regional care centers reaching 68%. Institutional care beds totaled 135,000, with nursing-type beds accounting for over 60%. The proportion of secondary and above public general hospitals with geriatric departments hit 94.86%, and 907 cooperative agreements were signed between medical and elderly care institutions. Psychological care service points achieved full coverage at the county level.
The silver economy is experiencing sustained growth. Nine categories of age-friendly products were included in the consumer goods trade-in program, driving nearly 150 million yuan in consumption. The province developed 16 pilot counties for senior tourism and released 10 premium travel routes. A total of 61 silver-haired tourism trains were operated, serving over 50,000 elderly travelers. The third Xi'an International Elderly Care Industry Expo signed more than 30 projects with intended investments of nearly 3.9 billion yuan. Additionally, Shaanxi expanded its international perspective by participating in the Japan Osaka World Expo for silver economy exchanges, signing nine cooperation agreements.
Furthermore, 13,000 retired medical workers and teachers in Shaanxi are actively serving on the frontlines of volunteerism, with five projects, including the "Three Qin Silver Age Action" and "Silver Teacher Classroom Education Support," recognized as national key brands for elderly engagement. "We will continue to improve the three-tier elderly care service network and deepen the integration of medical and health care, ensuring that more seniors enjoy support, medical care, active participation, happiness, learning, and security in their later years," a spokesperson for the Provincial Department of Civil Affairs stated.