North Macedonia is rapidly aging, and if the worrisome trend of emigration of young people continues, in ten years the country may face worrisome consequences. The demographic alarm has long been on. In the last decade, trends have emerged that indicate that the number of the young population is rapidly decreasing, which is why retirees remain in the country.
North Macedonia is an old man at 74 or an old woman at the age of 76, says the statistician Doncho Gerasimovski in an interview with Deutsche Welle, and by using just one sentence reflects all the trends that have been happening in the country for the last decade.
According to statistics, women on average live two years longer than men, so the average age of women in N. Macedonia is about 76 years.
According to the census data, from 2002 to 2021, the number of able-bodied population decreased by 171,317 inhabitants, or 12.4%, while the number of elderly population over 65 increased by 17.2%, or by 101,619 people. The oldest population is in several Skopje municipalities, as well as in Bitola, Prilep, Veles, Ohrid, etc. There are also 51 people over 100 years old in North Macedonia.
