The rate of aging in Iran is growing faster than the global average, so that the country will be among the oldest countries in the world in 25 years, the head of the Welfare Organization has said.

Based on the World Health Organization (WHO) age classification in 2025, the elderly population constitutes those aged 60 and older. Accordingly, 14 percent of the country’s population is old now, ISNA quoted Seyed Javad Hosseini as saying.

A population is considered to be young, with seven percent of people being 60 or older; when seven to 14 percent of people are over 60, the country is said to be aging. Countries with 14 to 21 percent and 21 to 27 percent of people aged 60 or over are aged and super-aged, respectively, the official said.

In the Iranian year 1395 (2016 - 2017), only 9.5 percent of the population was aged over 60, and the global average aging rate was about 12 and 13 percent. In the Iranian year 1415 (2036 - 2037), the figure will rise to 15 percent in Iran and 16.5 percent in the world. However,  in 1430 (2051 - 2052), the figure will reach 31 percent in Iran, and 21.5 percent in the world, the official noted.

The life expectancy in Iran has increased, but the birth rate has lowered, Hosseini stressed.

According to the latest census, the number of aged citizens in the country is growing by 3.62 percent, which is five times faster than the total population growth rate, which is 1.24 percent. For the time being, elderly women account for 52.3 percent of the total population, outnumbering men (47.7 percent), ISNA quoted Saber Jabbari, an official with the health ministry, as saying.