As of the beginning of this year, about 598,300 people aged 60 years and older lived in Moldova. The population aging coefficient was 23.8%, which corresponds to a high level of demographic aging. Compared to the beginning of 2019, it increased by 3 percentage points, the National Bureau of Statistics reported.

Of the total number of elderly people, 359,700 people were women (or 60.1%). One in three people was aged between 60-64 years (32.6%). 60,100 (or 10.0%) were over 80 years old. The share of people older than 60 years is continuously increasing.

In the last five years, the share of the elderly in the 70-74 age group increased the most - by 8.5 percentage points (from 13.6% at the beginning of 2019 to 22.1% at the beginning of 2023).

Elderly women have a longer life expectancy than men. The average life expectancy of the population aged 60 in the period 2018-2022 increased by 0.1 years for men and by 0.4 years for women. As a result, there has been an increase in the gap between life expectancy at age 60. A 60-year-old woman will continue to live for 19.6 more years, while the average life expectancy of a 60-year-old man is 15 years, according to 2022 data.

The mortality of elderly men exceeds the mortality of women. The leading causes of mortality in the elderly were diseases of the circulatory system (65.5%), cancers (15.0%) and diseases of the digestive system (5.7%).

Women receive old-age pensions that are 17% lower than men’s pensions. The average old-age pension as of 1 January 2023 was 3,164.9 lei, up by 21.9% compared to the previous year, and by 92.5%compared to the beginning of 2019. The average size of the old-age pension for men was 3,592.5 lei, compared to 2,965.9 lei for women. The gender disparity for old-age pensions was 17%, as compared to 20.7% at the beginning of 2019.

The NBS data are presented in the context of the International Day for Older Persons, which is marked annually on October 1.