BEIJING — A total of 16 out of the 31 provincial-level regions on the Chinese mainland have seen their populations aged 65 years and over exceed 5 million, according to a recent report on the country's old-age programs in 2020.

The report shows that six of them had over 10 million elderly aged 65 years and above by the end of last October.

According to China's seventh population census conducted last year, the country is witnessing an accelerating aging process. Its population aged 60 years and over reached 264 million, accounting for 18.7 percent of the total.

The proportion climbed 5.44 percentage points from that in 2010.

China's elderly population is forecast to undergo a new round of sharp growth during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), said Wu Yushao, deputy head of the China National Committee on Aging.

The number of senior citizens is expected to increase by 53 million during the period, or more than 10 million annually, Wu added.