Moldova has 475.2 thousand persons aged 60 and above

At the beginning of 2006 in the Republic of Moldova there were 475.2 thousand persons aged 60 and above, of which more than a half (61%) are women. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics also show that two thirds of the third age persons live in villages. According to the cited source, every fourth person from Republic of Moldova is between 60-64 years, and 11.6% are over 80. Over the last few years the number of third age persons remained the same and the aging coefficient is 13.2%. The aging process has affected villages more, as the persons over 60 represent 14.3%, compared to the 11.8% from cities. According to data of the 2004 census, every second person aged over 60 is married, 41.7% are widowed, and the rest are either not married (2.6%) or divorced/separated (3.2%). The marital status of the aged is very dependant on their sex. The ratio of married men is twice bigger than married women, and widowed persons are more often women - (54.7% compared to 21.4% for men). This situation is explained by the fact that wives are more often younger then men. Men get remarried more often, as the ratio of remarried men is 70.7% compared to the 35.9% for women, including civil marriages that are 4.3% and 2.1% respectively. The main causes of decease of the third age persons are cardiovascular diseases (71% from the overall deceases in this age category), harmful tumors (10%) and diseases of the digestive apparatus (8%). For the great majority of the persons aged 60 and more the main income is the pension. The elders also often get employed or work on their own in the agricultural field. Therefore, 82.2% of the aged announced that they have a second income source, 52.8% of persons from cities and 97.4% from villages have a second income source, most commonly individual agricultural activity.