Filenews 22 September 2022 - by Vassos Vassiliou
Cyprus is ageing, with people over the age of 65 outnumbering those under the age of 15, which is attributed on the one hand to the increase in the average life expectancy and on the other hand to the reluctance of young couples to have children, due to financial difficulties and the fact that while in the past women gave birth to the first child at 24, now they give birth at 30.
The issue was discussed yesterday in the Parliamentary Committee for the Study of the Demographic Problem and during this it was said that the reduction in the number of people per household is a worrying element. Specifically, from 2.8 in 2011 family members decreased to 2.6 in 2021. This means that households are shrinking in number of members, said the spokesman of the Ministry of Finance, Mr. Mallis. During the same period, the number of inhabitants of Cyprus increased by 193,000, which is also attributed to the presence of foreigners. In Paphos, their percentage touched 38%.
It is worth noting that, at some stage, clinicians did not declare births unless previously paid by the parents. A spokesman for the Statistical Service said the issue was resolved with the intervention of the health ministry. A problem also arose with births in the British Bases, which do not declare children born within their limits. Reference has also been made to foreign women giving birth to children who are subsequently declared for the purpose of receiving an allowance.
The relevant report was made by the representative of the Institute of Demographic and Migration Policy, who argued that there is no unified policy to address the demographic problem and the handling of foreigners.
What worries us is that the population is ageing, since we see that citizens over the age of 65 increased by 16.7% in 2021 from 13.3% in 2011, he said, adding that at the same time young people under the age of 15, as a percentage of the population remained or decreased marginally to 16.1% in 2011, to 15.9% in 2021.
The representative of the Family Planning Association, Dimitris Parperis, said that in order to reverse the course of birth reduction, infrastructure and actions must be created to support families and he cited as an example the overall implementation of the all-day school. The allowance is also good but it does not solve the problem, he said, adding that the concerns and concerns of young families must also be heard.
Commission President Linos Papagiannis said there is an increase in the ageing of the population, while younger people under the age of 15 have fallen by more than 1.5%.
