Azerbaijan, Baku, April 25 /Trend S.Isayev, T. Jafarov/
The population in Iran is getting older, and it can reduce drastically by 2101, Deputy Health Minister of Iran, Fatima Rakhshani said, IRNA reported.
She noted that in 10 years or so, in every 10 Iranian families there will be 7 people of 60 years or older.
"If the current tendency continues further and does not improve, the population of Iran can decrease to 62 million by 2101," she said.
Earlier this month, IRNA reported that Iran has about 19.2 million people aged 15-25 living in the country, which accounts for 25 percent of the country's total population.
Iran's young population is expected to hit 11.6 million people or 14 percent of total population in 2050.
Iran's population increased dramatically during the end of the 20th century, reaching about 75 million by 2011. However, Iran's birth rate has recently dropped significantly.
The studies project that Iran's rate of population growth will continue to slow until it stabilizes above 100 million by 2050. More than half of Iran's population was under 35 years old in 2012.
In February 2013, Head of the Health Ministry's Department for the Elderly in Iran, Parisa Taheri said that the world population is slowly aging, and such situation is observed in all countries, including Iran.
"The difference is that other countries understand this and try to find a solution, while in Iran this problem is not being assessed seriously," she said at the time.
In November 2012, Iran's Statistics Institute Head Alirza Zahedian said population of Iran can face negative growth rate till 2041.
Zahedian said that the young population in Iran now accounts for the majority of the overall population, and they will soon surpass the 30-year range.
"In the future, the social costs for caring for the elder population will be quite high, if the overall flow of younger population does not increase,"Zahedian said.
He noted that during 1981-1986, which was the growth peak in Iran, the country had 2.2-2.3 million annual birthrate.
"Now, the annual birthrate is some 1.3 million, with some 400,000 people dying annually in the country," Zahedian said.
He noted that by 2041, the number of older people in Iran can reach from 18 to 20 million out of 70 plus million population.