The youth make up a third of Moldova’s population, their generation being in continuous decline. Every third economically-inactive youth is a school or university student, and every fourth either works abroad or is seeking employment, informs the National Bureau of Statistics, referring to youth data for 2017, quoted by IPN.

Over the past four years, there has been a decrease in the population group of persons aged 14 to 19 – by 45 thousand persons. The number of persons aged 20-24 has fallen by 61 thousand, and the number of persons aged 25-29 has fallen by 31 thousand.

The number of school and university students is also falling. In the past five years, the number of students in secondary education has had a downward trend across all study programs. Women are predominant in secondary education, both in undergraduate and graduate studies. In 2017-2018, the share of female students was 58%.

Every fifth youth aged 18 to 24 has dropped out of school. Youth in villages drop out at double the rates of those in the city.

The youths’ main income sources are their salaries and financial aid from their parents. Incomes vary greatly across age groups. Three out of ten youth are employed, and six out of ten are inactive. Every third youth aged 15-29 doesn’t work or study, and about 5% of employed youth are also enrolled into education institutions, whereas every three out of ten are employed unofficially. Unemployment in youth is almost double the national unemployment rate.

The youth who are employed or seek work abroad make up 15% of their demographic group, mostly comprised of men and youth from villages. The most popular destinations to emigrate for work are Russia and Italy.

The youth who consider themselves healthy or very healthy represent 79.2% of their demographic group, village residents considering themselves healthier than urbanites. Almost every sixth youth is a smoker, with highest rates among those aged 30-34.