Demographic changes in Iran are accelerating amid declining birth rates, with the elderly already making up 13 percent of the country's population. According to current forecasts, nearly a third of the Iranian population will be over 60 years old within the next 25 years.
This demographic shift will place significant pressure on the national economy, pension funds, social security systems, and healthcare. To prevent the negative consequences of population aging, the country is implementing policies aimed at stimulating birth rates and increasing the share of youth.
Aging is a natural stage of the life cycle, but society's approach to this phase will determine the living conditions of future generations. The increase in the number of elderly citizens entails not only increased demand for medical services but also a growing need for care, rehabilitation, home assistance, environmental adaptation, and social welfare services, which will seriously affect the pension system.
The necessity of taking action is becoming increasingly urgent, as there is a time interval between the current situation and the onset of deep aging, which provides an opportunity for structural reforms and policy development. Inaction will lead to problems that will be much harder to solve.
Measures being taken to support the elderly
According to Marzieh Vahid-Dashtjerdi, Secretary of the National Headquarters for Population Affairs, attention should be paid to the young population, defined as the proportion of the population under 15 years of age. Currently, this group accounts for 21.5 percent of the total residents in Iran, but its share is decreasing due to falling birth rates.
Despite this, Iran is in a favorable demographic window of opportunity, as most of the population is of working age, and there are 15–20 years left before this window closes. Alireza Raesi, an employee of the Ministry of Health, notes that the decline in population is a consequence, not a cause, so reversing trends requires identifying, analyzing, and eliminating various economic, social, cultural, and family factors contributing to fertility decline. He emphasizes that population aging is inevitable, even with an increase in population size.
Seyed Javad Hosseini, head of the Welfare Organization, states that aging is a social problem. He warns that without solving this problem today, society will face complex social crises in the future. However, with strategic planning, aging can open up new opportunities for the economy and employment.
Referring to the concept of the 'silver economy'—a system of production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services aimed at meeting the needs of the elderly—Hosseini added that the growth of the aging population increases the demand for healthcare, making elder care one of the fastest-growing and most sustainable global employment opportunities. Iran must also use this potential to improve the quality of life for older citizens and develop the economy.
The Welfare Organization plans to train consultants and specialists in elderly care. Community-level rehabilitation projects have been launched in less affluent and remote areas where access to social services is limited. Social workers are undergoing 20-hour training to work in these centers as facilitators. The project has covered 95 percent of rural areas and is planned to expand to 30 percent of urban areas.
According to Hosseini, the Welfare Organization, in collaboration with the national standardization organization, has accredited about 300 day care centers for the elderly and plans to create new service centers, such as elderly villages and urban health centers for the elderly. Other organizational programs include prevention of disability in old age, home rehabilitation, home care services, and life support assistance for the elderly with severe impairments.
The National Council for the Elderly approved 18 strategic aging plans to improve the status of older citizens. These plans include developing age-friendly communities, supporting formal and informal caregivers, district-level social security programs, a bill on the protection of the rights of the elderly, amending executive regulations on organizing elderly affairs, training aging experts, using time banks, creating elderly data dashboards, modern aging centers, tourism for the elderly, elderly employment, an aging economy document, expanding science and technology in aging, increasing awareness of aging issues, empowering single elderly women, long-term care insurance, and conducting a national survey.
The goal of these plans is to improve physical and mental health, provide social support, enhance the quality of care services, prevent harm, educate, and develop culture and infrastructure, as well as increase the participation of older people. Furthermore, 19 cities in the country have already adopted necessary measures to create age-friendly communities.