TEHRAN –Due to the rapid growth in the number of older adults in the country, Iran is expected to enter a phase of population aging between 2041 and 2046, with nearly a third of the population being aged 60 and older by 2050, an official with the National Population Headquarters has said.

According to a recent report, the number of Iranians aged 65 and older is currently at 7.5 million, accounting for less than 10 percent of the country’s total population, Press TV quoted Mehdi Malmir as saying.

However, the rate of population aging is growing rapidly in Iran, mainly because of lower birth rates, increased life expectancy, and other demographic trends, he added.

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.

He said that the single elderly account for 31 percent 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- Baluchestan are demographically better placed than the rest of the country.

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

Population aging five times faster than population growth

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.

In the last two years, the fertility rate has stabilized around 1.6, which has intensified concerns over the decreasing trend in population growth in the coming years, and the probability of turning Iran into one of the oldest countries in the world, the official highlighted.

MT/MG