Trends of disability-free life expectancies of Chinese elderly, 1987-2006

Xiaochun Qiao, Peking University

The main objective of this paper is to explore the disability-free life expectancies changed over the time period from 1987 to 2006, by using two national disability surveys in China was conducted in 1987 and 2006. The sampling rate for the first survey was 1.5% and 1.58 million people were sampled in China. The sampling rate for the second survey was 1.93% and it covered 2.53 million people in China. The proportions of disabled increased from 4.9 percent in 1987 to 6.4 percent in 2006 as population aging. In order to assess the real change by overcoming the effect of change of age structure within the 19 years, we calculate the disability-free life expectancies by type and severity of the disability of the elderly, by using Sullivan Method, and discuss their trends, measurement, and the policy implications.