NATIONAL BUREAU OF STATISTICS OF THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA
youth IN THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA
ANALYTICAL REPORT, UNICEF, TransMONEE PROJECT
CONTENT
Introduction 3
Youth in the transition period: demographic changes 4
Health and mortality 9
Education of young people 14
Labor Market and Unemployment among Youth 18
Young people in conflict with law 22
Bibliography 25
Annexes 26
Introduction
The youth is the most valuable human resources for the economic development of any society. It accounts for 24% of the total population of the Republic of Moldova and 25% of the economically active population.
Recognizing all the problems, encountered by young people, the society should provide the needed resources (time, economic resources, IT, etc.) for their settlement during the "youth" period, predetermining thus the viability of the young generations and its self-preservation and development as a holistic social and historic object. The society and the Government should orient the Government's youth policy at the settlement of the issues related to the socialization of young people and use their social potential for the welfare and prosperity of the country.
Taking into account that young people are part of the national and state interests, in their capacity of a strategic resource for a developing society, each Government should implement a youth policy.
In the Republic of Moldova the youth policy has become a priority of the national development policy since 1999, when the Youth Law was approved. This law was used as a starting point for the development of the existing legal basis for the youth policy. Thus, the National Youth Committee was established in 1999, and the National Youth Resource Center was set up in 2003. In parallel, in line with the Moldovan Government Decision no 688 of 10 June 2003, the settlement of young people's issues at the local level was delegated to the Rayon Departments for Education, Youth and Sports.
The main task of the National Youth Committee is to support and promote cooperation between Non-Government Organizations and central and local public authorities. The members of the National Youth Committee are 32 youth NGOs and 2 regional committees. This committee is also member of the International Youth Forum.
The National Youth Resource Center has representative offices in several regions of the country. Some centers were included in the public service system, being thus supported financially for the payment of various operational services, personnel cost, etc. However, the youth resource centers are not provided such financial assistance in all regions of the country, which hinders the implementation of the youth policy.
According to the National Action Plan, 2008 was declared as the Youth Year, and a number of evens were organized, such as the youth forum, international symposium and congresses for students, youth festival, etc. In addition, the National Youth Strategy for 2009-2013 and National Program of Economic Empowerment of Youth for 2008-2010 were developed and approved.
According to Article 12-13 of the Youth Law, a number of ministries are responsible for the youth policy of the country, but the Ministry of Education and Youth (Department of Youth Affairs) has the coordinating role. In 2009 the Ministry of Youth and Sports was set up on the basis of the Department of Youth Affairs and National Sports Agency, which is now the central specialized public authority, responsible for the development and implementation of the Government policy on youth and sports[1].
It is possible to take appropriate measures for the enhancement of the situation of young people in the country only if there is available information on the problems encountered by the young people in the modern society. In this report the young people are defined as the group of people of 15-24 years old. This report contains data from the National Bureau of Statistics, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Home Affairs and other sources.
Youth in the transition period: demographic changes
At the beginning of 1998, in the country there were 619.3 thousand young people aged between 14 and 24 years (17% of the total population of the country). Of the total number of young people, 322.9 thousand persons (52.1%) were aged between 15 and 19 years and 296.4 thousand persons (47.9%) were aged between 20 and 24 years.
In the current decade, the total number of this group of population increased by 51.1 thousand people, that is 8.2% and amounted to 670.4 thousand people at the beginning of 2009. The share of young men (50.9%) and young women (49.1%) almost didn't change and the ratio was approximately the same for all ages. But as a result of the migration processes, since 2007 a numerical preponderance of girls was registered in towns. In early 2008 their share in the total urban population accounted for 50.8% and in early 2009 it became less visible (50.5%).
Table 1. Change in the number of population by separate age groups
Age group / Number of population as of 01.01.1998, people / Number of population as of 01.01.2009,people / Change in the population
(+ increase, - decrease) / Cohorts
Absolute numbers / %
15-24 / 619347 / 670443 / 51096 / 108.2 / 1984-1993
15-19 / 322904 / 311371 / -11533 / 96.4 / 1989-1993
20-24 / 296443 / 359072 / 62629 / 121.1 / 1984-1988
15-17 / 197696 / 177585 / -20111 / 89.8 / 1991-1993
18-24 / 421651 / 492858 / 71207 / 116.9 / 1984-1990
For the last 11 years, the number of population in the 15-19 years age group decreased by 11.5 thousand people (3.6%), while the number of population in the 20-24 years age group increased by 62.6 thousand people (21.1%). At the same time, the number of adolescents of 15, 16, and 17 years old decreased (by respectively 11.0, 6.2, 2.9 thousand people and by 10.2% overall) and the number of people of 18-24 years increased (by 71.2 thousand or 16.9% overall).
The main reason of the irregular age structure is the wavy change in the number of newborns. A baby-boom occurred in the mid 1980s and until the beginning of 1990s the birth rate was quite high (21-22‰). The next demographic wave was characterized by a steady decreasing trend of the birth rate, which reached 15-16‰ in 1991-1993.
Taking into account that during the following years the birth rate kept decreasing, starting with the next year the number of people of 15-24 years old will gradually decrease until 2013. During this period of time it will decrease to 591 thousand people (by 83 thousand people or 13%). The role of this group in the formation of labour resources will decline as well. From now on, the number of people in this age group could go up, provided that the augmentation of the birth rate, started in 2007, will continue.
Changes in the family formation patterns, creation of partnerships
The negative phenomena occurred in the Republic of Moldova during the past decade. namely: lower birth rates, fewer children in families, increased number of divorces and single-parent families, lower number of official marriages are a result of the transforming pattern of the marriage/family relationships. In their turn, all these negative trends have an adverse impact on the quality of families. The statistical data and data of social surveys prove it.
Moldova is a country with a high marriage rate, but the dynamics of marriages concluded has always had a wavy character. The number of marriages decreased significantly in the first years of the new millennium: their lowest number was recorded in 2001 - 21.1 thousand, the marriage coefficient reaching 5.8‰.
This was followed by annual increases of official marriages and now their number is more or less steady - 27-29 thousand per year. The marriage coefficient is 8 marriages per 1000 inhabitants. Traditionally, the share of marriages concluded in urban areas is higher.
Three quarters of the total number of marriages concluded in 2008 were first marriages. Their share decreased insignificantly if compared with 2000. However, the trends of concluded marriages are different by age groups.
Nowadays, young women and men do not hurry to enter into official marriages. The share of girls who married younger than 20 years decreased twice (from 37.3% in 2000 down to 18.6% in 2008). The number of men entering into a marriage at the same age used to be insignificant during the previous years as well, and now it accounts for only 2.8%. The early marriages are even less popular among urban men - accounting for 2%.
The share of first marriages (for both spouses) at the age of 20-24 years in the total number of first marriages and their trends are different by genders. During the past years the share of such marriages increased for women (from 50% to 59%) and decreased for men (from 58% to 47%).
At the same time, a significant part of cohabiting couples don't marry officially. The so-called consensual marriages have become more frequent. The number of people living in cohabitation was determined for the first time according to the data of the 2004 census. Overall at the national level, 7.7% married men and 8% married women lived in cohabitation. This trend is most popular among young people. The highest share of cohabitation arrangements is registered in the age group of 15-19 years: over 68% for men and 41% for women; and in the age group of 20-24 years: over 22% for men and 17% for women. Most of the cohabitation arrangements involve young men and women from rural areas.
The number of divorces is still high. During the past years, the divorce level in the Republic of Moldova was the highest - 4 divorces per 1000 inhabitants.
Table 2. Distribution of divorces among young people
Age group / 1998 / 2008husband / wife / husband / wife
Total number of divorces / 10156 / 10156 / 12601 / 12601
including per ages:
under 20 years / 21 / 221 / 25 / 132
20-24 years / 926 / 1834 / 880 / 1878
25-29 years / 2135 / 2169 / 2193 / 2718
as % of the total number of divorces:
up to 20 years / 0.2 / 2.2 / 0.2 / 1.1
20-24 years / 9.1 / 18.1 / 6.9 / 14.9
25-29 years / 21.0 / 21.4 / 17.4 / 21.6
Table 2 reveals that the share of divorces in young families decreased, especially in the families where the husband or wife was 20-24 years old. The share of divorces for spouses over 30 years is the highest in the total number of divorces.
Analyzing the status of the family, we can notice that it suffers a difficult transformation process. Nevertheless, the social poll among youth and teenagers, conducted in Chisinau in May 2009 (sampled population N = 600), confirmed that the family is still one of the most important values (together with health, children, interesting and well-paid job). Over 86.3% respondents perceive the family as one of the most important life values.
Currently the families - especially the young ones - undergo a difficult and complex revaluation of their reproductive possibilities. The family planning takes account of the material, social and other possibilities for a thorough education of children.
The young family, as a social-demographic group, is the most vulnerable category to the influence of social-economic transformations occurring in the society. To survive under the new circumstances, the young family has to undergo an adaptation process, taking into account the economic, social, general family and individual resources of the family members.
As a result of the poll, 4 models of families were determined depending on their degree of adaptation, on the needs of the young families and the available resources.
· Entirely adapted families
· Families that have adapted themselves as a family, but not economically
· Families that have adapted themselves economically, but not as a family
· Families not adapted at all
The analysis showed that the share of families totally adapted to the social and economic transformations, occurring in the country accounts for 11.48%. Over a half (53.4%) of these families live in rural area. Besides their high welfare level, these families are satisfied with their family life, understanding the equal responsibility and mutual help, discussing and solving together the arising problems. Both spouses (82% of respondents) are employed and are satisfied with the type of their work. Most people from this category have university education and are employed in education, culture and science (26%), service and trade (23%); 42% of men and 16% of women have at least once worked abroad; 71% families have their own dwelling and only 9% families depend materially on their parents. At the same time, in comparison with other categories, the share of families with no children is the highest here - 35.3%, in other categories the families with no children don't exceed 22-25%.
The biggest category (48.7%) is represented by families who adapted themselves as a family, but not economically. They are fully satisfied with the relationships in the family, the problems are discussed together, conflicts arise rarely, the spouses are ready to find a compromise. The vast majority of husbands and wives in these families have a permanent or temporary job, but a half of them is partially satisfied or not satisfied at all with their workplace. Because of the lack of sufficient material and financial means, the spouses not always can provide themselves with the most necessary things. Such families are insured with consumer goods at an average level: 7.2% families have no TV set, 21.2% - no fridge, 33.8% - no washing machine, 72.9% - no computer. Only 44% have their own dwelling. This type of families is materially vulnerable. If the main economic problems are not solved in the nearest future, the atmosphere of harmony, love, and understanding that exists now in the families can be impaired.