About 15% of rural population is older than 60

The population of Moldova is growing older as the birth rate has decreased and there are fewer young persons, Info-Prim Neo reports, quoting the National Bureau of Statistics. The share of young people (0-14 years) fell from 23.8% on January 1, 2000 to 17.1% (-256,400 people) at the start of 2009. The number of elderly people (65 years and over) rose by 23,800, making up 10.2% of the population, as against 9.4% on January 1, 2000. The situation during the last two years has improved owing to a higher birth rate. The ageing process is more evident in rural areas. About 15% of the rural population is older than 60. The elderly women make up 17.7% of the female population in rural areas. At the start of the year, the ratio of men to women was 926:1,000. In the 65-74 age bracket, the ratio of men to women was 665:1,000. In the 75 years and over age group, the number of women was about two times larger than the number of men (517 men per 1,000 women). Moldova’s stable population on January 1, 2009 was 3.567,5 million people, down 5,200 from a year earlier. The rural population was 2.091,4 million (58.6%), while the urban one – 1.476,1 (41.4%). The women made up 51.9% of the population (1.852,6 million people), while the men – 48.1% (1.714,9 million people).