In the Republic of Moldova, there are 584,000 people aged 60 and over. This is 22.5% of the population with ordinary residence, according to data for the start of this year. Of the total number of older persons, 60% are women. Slightly over 10% of the older persons are older than 80, IPN reports, quoting data of the National Bureau of Statistics that was published on the occasion of the International al Day of Older Persons.

The number of persons older than 60 has increased continuously. During the past five years, the number of people aged between 70 and 74 increased the most, by 6 percentage points (from 13% at the start of 2017 to 19% at the start of 2021).

On January 1, 2021, the ratio of men to women aged 60 and over was 67:100. In the 80-84 age group, the changes in the ratio of sexes are more visible: 45 men to 100 women.

The average length of life of the population aged 60 in 2016-2020 decreased by 0.5 years in the case of men and by 0.2 years in the case of women. A woman aged 60 will yet live for 18 years and a half, while a man for slightly over 14 years, according to the estimates of 2020.

Among the main causes of death of older persons were the circulatory system diseases (64.4% of the deaths in this age bracket), malignant tumors (13.4%) and digestive system diseases (5.5%). Excess male mortality was recorded in all the classes of major causes of death.