Khaberni - The Department of Statistics participates globally in celebrating the International Day of Older Persons, which falls on the first of October every year, by highlighting quality indicators related to them, where the Department provides statistics on the percentage of older persons by governorate and gender, and the average life expectancy at birth,
The Department of Statistics stated in a press release that aging is expected to be one of the most prominent social transformations in society, affecting all sectors, including the labor market, financial markets, and the demand for goods and services, such as housing, transportation, and social protection.
It added that the world stands in appreciation and reverence, celebrating the International Day of Older Persons, which is dedicated to honoring those who spent their lives building and giving, and left their marks in every corner of life. It is a day to recall the genuine human values represented by the elderly, from wisdom and experience to patience, and to reflect on our ethical and social responsibilities towards this valuable group.
The statistics indicated that the government has constitutionally affirmed the protection of aging in the Jordanian society, which was recently reflected in two important documents: the Jordan 2025 document (vision and national strategy) and the comprehensive national human rights plan for the years 2016-2025. One of the most important achievements made by the Jordanian government was issuing guidelines necessary to open clinics to provide direct medical supervision and health care for the elderly in residential care homes that accommodate the elderly, and according to the national Jordanian strategy for the elderly in Jordan, the age of sixty years and above has been adopted as the age classifying the elderly among all the population.
The statistics clarified that population estimates indicate that the population of the kingdom by the end of 2024 reached approximately 11.734 million people, of whom the elderly aged 60 and over constituted 5.5%, with the percentage among males at 5.3% versus 5.7% among females.
The data indicated that the highest percentage of the elderly reside in the capital governorate with a rate of 6.2%, followed by the governorates of Ajloun and Karak at a rate of 5.3%, and this rate equaled in the governorates of Balqa, Madaba, Irbid, and Ma'an with a rate of 5.2%, while Mafraq governorate recorded the lowest rate at 4.2%.
The expected life expectancy at birth in the kingdom is 75.3 years, (77.0 years for females compared to 73.8 years for males), reflecting the extent of progress in the health sector which has had a positive impact in reducing mortality rates and increasing life expectancy at birth.
According to the main report of the labor force survey for 2024, it was found that 18.1% of the elderly Jordanians are illiterate and 15.1% have a bachelor's degree or higher, and the survey results indicated that the majority of the elderly Jordanians are married or have been married, with the rate reaching 97.9%.
Regarding the use of computers by the elderly, a 2023 survey on the use of information technology within homes showed that 9.7% of the elderly in the age group (60-64) years use the computer while this rate reached 5.4% among those who are 65 years and older, and males recorded a higher rate in computer usage compared to females, with a rate of 14.2% for males versus 5.3% for females within the age group from (60-64) years.
