PEOPLE AGED 60 AND ABOVE MAKE 12% ARMENIA’S POPULATION

NOYAN TAPAN
APRIL 7, 2009
YEREVAN

A selective study on RA population’s aging was for the first time
conducted in June-December 2008 in Armenia within the framework of UN
Population Fund’s program under the title Strategies of Population
and Development with the financial and technical assistance of UN
Department on Economic and Social Issues. Study’s goal was to register
people aged 50 and above, to find out their family interrelations,
health condition, way of living, well-being, employment, extent of
pension and financial security.

Arsen Hambartsumian, the RA Minister of Labor and Social Issues,
said on April 7, at a three-day working meeting dedicated to aging
problems, that social policy and actions plan of its implementation
will be worked out on the basis of the study results. In particular,
it will be aimed at population’s permanent education, extension of
working period, ensuring healthy way of life.

The Minister said that people aged 60 and above make 12% Armenia’s
population, which means that Armenia is numbered among aging societies.

According to A. Hambartsumian, today the issue of population’s aging
is also considered very important in the context of international and
regional socio-economic development. "Aging society implies existence
of many problems. Each state is obliged to undertake events to weaken
aging influences to prevent the socio-economic consequences at the
same time to ensure well-off old age," the Minister said.

It was also mentioned that the Strategy of Work and Social Sphere
Stable Development is envisaged to be confirmed under the RA
government’s 2009 actions plan. The Strategy will enable to exactly
reflect social policy’s all directions.

Representatives of Belarus, Bulgaria, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, and Ukraine take part in the working
meeting.