MOLDOVA IS STEADILY LOSING ITS YOUNG POPULATION – NATIONAL STATISTICS BUREAU

The young population segment in Moldova is shrinking steadily, maintains the National Statistics Bureau.

According to its youth research data for 2017, last 4 years were remarkable for diminishing of the population group of 14-19 years of age – minus 45 thousand people. The number of citizens aged 20-24 years has fallen by 61 thousand people, and aged 25-29 years – by 31 thousand.

These 4 years revealed a trend of lowering the number of students in higher educational institutions in all types of education programs. Each 5th young citizen ceased studying before receiving a diploma, and the rural youth were doing this 2.5 times more often than the city youth. In the 2017-2018 academic year, 58% students were female students.

According to the Bureau’s official data, unemployment among the youth is almost twice higher than the country’s average. Only three out of each 10 young citizens had official jobs, and another three worked unofficially and hence did not pay taxes. Over 15% young unemployed Moldovans go to Russia and Italy for jobs, and mostly these are young men from rural localities.