Life expectancy rises to new high in capital

The life expectancy of Beijing's permanent residents hit a record high last year - nearly 82 years - while the number of people 60 or older in the city increased by more than 200,000, a new report says.

A rapidly aging population, coupled with an increase in the number of children 10 or younger - the result of a rising birthrate in recent years - is putting an added burden on Beijing's working population, said the report, released on Monday by the Beijing Commission of Health and Family Planning.

The life expectancy of Beijing's permanent residents was almost 82 years last year, an increase of one-third of a year from 2013, and it is still slowly rising, the report said.