TEHRAN – The fourth National Youth Population Award is set to be held on November 15, with the aim of strengthening the institution of the family, advancing effective demographic policies and initiatives, and encouraging greater public participation in implementing the Youth Population Law.

Organized by the National Population Headquarters, the event aims to raise public awareness about the importance of population issues, encourage young people to get married and start a family, showcase successful and inspiring role models, strengthen inter-sectoral cooperation and synergy, as well as support research, innovation, and initiatives in the youth population field, IRNA reported.

Highlighting principles and values such as sustainable population development, social justice, public participation, innovation and science-based approaches, and the preservation of human dignity, the event seeks to recognize leading individuals, families, institutions, and organizations, and promote successful experiences in fostering youth population.

The event will be organized across seven categories including media, non-governmental organizations, executive agencies, private companies and institutions, managers, elites, and families. The measures, performance, and actions of the participants will be assessed in accordance with the indicators, metrics, and points approved by the National Population Headquarters.

‘Aging rate in Iran exceeds global average’

The rate of aging in Iran is growing faster than the global average, so that the country will be among the oldest countries in the world in 25 years, the head of the Welfare Organization said in January.

Based on the World Health Organization (WHO) age classification in 2025, the elderly population constitutes those aged 60 and older. Accordingly, 14 percent of the country’s population is old now, ISNA quoted Seyed Javad Hosseini as saying.

A population is considered to be young, with seven percent of people being 60 or older; when seven to 14 percent of people are over 60, the country is said to be aging. Countries with 14 to 21 percent and 21 to 27 percent of people aged 60 or over are aged and super-aged, respectively, the official said.

In the Iranian year 1395 (2016 – 2017), only 9.5 percent of the population was aged over 60, and the global average aging rate was about 12 and 13 percent. In the Iranian year 1415 (2036 – 2037), the figure will rise to 15 percent in Iran and 16.5 percent in the world. However, in 1430 (2051 – 2052), the figure will reach 31 percent in Iran, and 21.5 percent in the world. The life expectancy in Iran has increased, but the birth rate has lowered, Hosseini stressed.

According to the latest census, the number of aged citizens in the country is growing by 3.62 percent, which is five times faster than the total population growth rate, which is 1.24 percent. For the time being, elderly women account for 52.3 percent of the total population, outnumbering men (47.7 percent), ISNA quoted Saber Jabbari, an official with the health ministry, as saying.

Despite offering incentives to encourage childbearing in line with the youth population law, the desired growth in the youth population has not been accomplished yet. It is one of the most important challenges facing the country.

“At best, Iran’s population with a total fertility rate of 2.5 will reach 102,890,000 by the next seven years,” IRIB quoted Mohammad-Javad Mahmoudi, an official with the Civil Registration Organization, as saying.

The official noted that the fertility rate has remained stable at around 1.6 over the past two years. This trend has heightened concerns about a continued decline in population growth in the coming years and the growing likelihood of Iran becoming one of the world’s oldest countries.

MT/MG