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BEIJING (AP) - Life expectancy in China should jump sharply over the next several decades, hitting 85 years by 2050 as overall living standards improve, Chinese scientists said in a report published in state-run media Monday.
The average life expectancy in China for the 2000-2005 period was 70 for men and 73 for women, according to the United Nations. Those figures compare with 78 and 85 for Japan, and 75 and 80 for the United States.
A growing elderly population poses huge problems for the Chinese government, which is already predicting serious challenges as its 1.3 billion population ages, requiring vast amounts of funding for pensions, health care and other programs for the elderly.
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