Armenian elderly residents suffering from social problems

By Mushvig Mehdiyev

Ageing may seem unbearable in some conditions. This sentence has a familiar ring for the elderly in Armenia as they are suffering from lack of basic living conditions.

A large number of the elderly are struggling with a great deal of problems in Armenia, official data revealed.

According to the data, more than 400,000 elderly residents of Armenia have unsatisfactory living conditions.

UN Population Fund Executive Representative Gagik Hayrapetyan said on October 1 that Armenia holds one of the top positions among the countries with aging population. He added that 13 percent of Armenia's population is aged 60 and above. The UN classifies a country's population old when this index exceeds 7 percent.

"People aged 65 and above will constitute 23 percent of Armenia's population in 2050, if no preventive measures are taken. About 26-27 percent of the country's population will be aged 60 and over by 2050," Hayrapetyan said.

Skyrocketing emigration from Armenia stands behind the large number of aged people in the former Soviet state. About 19 percent unemployed residents of the country are too keen to earn their living abroad.

Mostly male residents leave Armenia to work abroad by leaving their families and parents alone. Subsequently the ageing tendency is accelerated as most of the emigrants refuse to get ack to the country and abandon their families to their fate.

They are now grappling with lots of problems including lack of state aid and deteriorating social conditions.

"Today, every three employed take care of one unemployed in Armenia. In 2050 it will drop by half to make one unemployed dependent on one and a half employed. This will be a huge burden on the shoulders of the employed," Hayrapetyan noted.

The social conditions of the elderly residents remain disturbing, as the pensions are not enough to meet their needs. Hayrapetyan believes that this condition will keep going on as long as the current pension system is changed.

He added that the current demographic development in Armenia prevents the government to change the miserable conditions of the elderly people.

Armenia's aggressive and occupant policy has led it to start a war against Azerbaijan more than 20 years ago. The war ended up in the occupation of 20 percent of Azerbaijan's historical territories - Karabakh and its surrounding lands. Gagik Hayrapetyan said the Karabakh war seriously affected Armenia's natural growth, as the birth rate in the country has sharply decreased after the war. "Now, we are suffering from its results," he added.

Armenia's demographic condition is characterized by low fertility, ageing and emigration. The growth of the population in Armenia has dropped by 4.5 times since 1990s to reach the disastrous level. The natural growth in the country shows -0.13 percent index, which excludes any growth in number of the people. The birth rate in Armenia is 13.92 per 1,000 people, while the death rate is 9.5 per 1,000 people.

Global Age Watch Index ranked Armenia 74th among 96 states for the health domain with the life expectancy and healthy life expectancy below the average.

Fertility rate is 1.6 children per woman, while for simple reproduction of population it should be 2.1 and higher. As of the total mortality rate, it has increased by 13 percent over the last 10 years in Armenia. The National Statistical Service estimates Armenia's population to drop to 2.9 million people in 2035.

/Trend/