关键词: 居住方式, 老年人, 家庭, 六普

Abstract: The sixth national population census in 2010 is an updated data resource for understanding the living arrangement of the Chinese older people. This paper studies the current situations and changing patterns of living arrangement of Chinese older people using data from the sixth and fifth national censuses and analyzes cohort changes of living arrangement of the older people. There are apparent developments in the trend of empty- nest families in China. Comparing to the older persons in living-alone families，those who live in the only- couple families have distinct features. Despite the provincial differences，the extended families with three generations living together is still the dominant living arrangement in China largely due to the past fertility levels of the current older people. The results suggest that the percentage of nuclear families will decrease，while the shares of empty- nest families and living-alone families will increase remarkably during the aging process of the population who were born in the 1950s and 1960s. It is imperative to develop social institutions and improve social services for older people to accommodate the changes of living arrangement in China.

Keywords: Living Arrangement, Older People, Family, China's Sixth National Population Census