Iran’s Aging Population Growing Rapidly, Official Warns

Iran’s population of elderly is growing rapidly, with a senior official warning that nearly a third of the country will be aged 60 and older by 2050.

Mehdi Malmir, who serves as a deputy head of Iran’s National Population Headquarters, said on Saturday that the country will officially enter a phase of population aging between 2041 and 2046.

Malmir said that the latest government data show that the number of Iranians aged 65 and older is currently at 7.5 million, accounting for less than 10% of the country’s total population.

He said, however, that the rate of population aging is growing rapidly in Iran, mainly because of lower birth rates, increased life expectancy, and other demographic trends.

The official said that the Iranian baby boomer generation of the 1970s and early 80s, which currently accounts for a considerable part of the country’s population, will be considered elderly in the next 15 to 25 years.

“This change of structure requires serious planning,” Malmir said in a speech covered by the official IRNA news agency.

He said that the single elderly account for 31% of Iran’s total elderly population, saying the category will expand in the near future to significantly increase pressure on the Iranian health and pension systems.

The official said a bulk of Iran’s population of seniors lives in rural areas of the country, adding that the northern province of Gilan has the oldest population, while the southern provinces of Khuzestan, Hormozgan, and Sistan and Baluchestan are demographically better placed than the rest of the country.

He said that around 62% of female seniors and some 39% of male seniors in Iran live below the absolute poverty line. - Press TV