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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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).<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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%).<\/p>\n
Women receive old-age pensions that are 17% lower than men\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
The NBS data are presented in the context of the International Day for Older Persons, which is marked annually on October 1.<\/p>\n