Around 1.5m senior citizens live in Belarus
MINSK, 1 October (BelTA) – About 1.5 million elderly people live in Belarus, BelTA learned from the National Statistics Committee.
“As of 1 January 2021, 1,475,943 elderly citizens (aged 65 years and over) lived in Belarus. Over the past ten years, their number has increased by 174,517, or 13.4%. The government policy is aimed at ensuring full participation of senior citizens in the life of society, prolonging their active longevity. Women account for 51.9% of the labor force aged 65-74, men for 48.1%. People aged 65-74 years account for 1.7% of the total labor force in Belarus,” the National Statistics Service said.
Today, the professionalism and life experience of the older generation are in demand in various lines of economic activity: senior citizens account for 3.2% of labor force in administrative and auxiliary services, 3.3% in real estate, 3.8% in education, 3.9% in healthcare, 4.1% in the production of computer hardware, electronic and optical devices, and 6.5% in research and development.
A healthy lifestyle is an important factor for active longevity. According to a living standards survey, the number of the elderly who engage in physical activity or sport is increasing every year. More than half of seniors stick to a daily regimen and two-thirds – a diet.
Elderly people are active internet users. In 2020, some 43.8% of senior citizens living in urban areas used the internet and 20% of those living in rural areas. Most often seniors use the internet to search for information.
Last year, 937 women and 1,439 men married at age 60 or older. In 718 cases both were over 60 years old.
