Shanghai faces a major demographic crisis as the number of its senior citizens keeps rising, with aging levels already exceeding several European countries, data showed. 

Shanghai residents above the age of 65 now account for 14.87 percent of the city's population of about 17 million, compared with 11.5 percent at the end of 2001, according to a report by the Shanghai Research Centre on Aging. 

The figure compares to a national average of 6.97 percent of China's population. 

Experts are particularly worried because the city has already exceeded the aging rate of many developed countries such as Holland, the United States and New Zealand, although it still lags behind France, Germany and Japan. 

By 2030, up to 28.8 percent of the population will be categorized as elderly, according to the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. Although Shanghai is one of China's wealthiest cities it still cannot adequately manage the challenges of an aging population due to a fragile social security system, experts say. 

Many retirees cannot afford the rising costs of medical care in the city, while services for the elderly often remain rudimentary at best.