559.7 thousand children were registered in Moldova as of January 1, 2021; this is 21.6% of the total population of the country.
On the occasion of the International Children's Day, the National Bureau of Statistics presented summary statistics on children in Moldova. According to the department, every year the number of citizens of Moldova under the age of 18 is decreasing (at the beginning of 2017 there were 602.1 thousand children in the country), while the share of children in the total population remains on average (at the beginning of 2017 children accounted for 21.7% of the population). In 2020, 30.7 thousand children were born, which is 5.2% less than in 2019.The birth rate at the end of the last year amounted to 11.7 people per 1 thousand inhabitants, and this indicator is the lowest in recent 5 years. More than 52.4% of newborns are boys, respectively, there were 110.2 boys per 100 girls. Almost 10% of babies were born prematurely. The average age of primiparous mothers is 25.2 years (24 years in villages and 26.9 years in cities). In 2020, every 5th child was born out of wedlock. According to statistics, in 2020 there were 1,485 preschool educational institutions in Moldova, attended by 134.2 thousand children. In the general education system (1241 institutions) in 2020-2021, 334.4 thousand students were registered, which is 1.2 thousand students more than in the previous academic year. This year, 9.8 thousand children with special needs and disabilities studied in educational institutions (94.5% of them studied in regular schools, 5.5% in special schools for children with physical or mental disabilities). Last year, 81.4 thousand people received benefits for birth and childcare (2.6% more than in 2019). Of these, 59% are insured persons, 41% are uninsured. From January 1, 2021, the average amount of the lump sum for the birth of the first and subsequent children was 8299 lei. The monthly childcare allowance for insured persons amounted to 2273.7 lei per month, for uninsured persons - 640 lei per month. In 2020, about 47.9 thousand people benefited from parental leave to care for a child under the age of 3 years (of which 19.4% are fathers of children). According to the NBS, in 2016-2020, the living wage for children increased by 17%, amounting to 1995 lei, including 803.5 lei for children under 1 year old, 1734.5 lei - from 1 year to 6 years, 2262.8 lei - from 7 to 17 years. In 2019, 10400 children with disabilities were registered in the country, 44.5% of them with severe disabilities. The average size of the disability benefit for children was 770.1 lei, which is 1.5 times more than in 2016. According to official data, about 10.3 thousand children were at risk of violence, did not have sufficient care, and lived in socially vulnerable families. According to statistics, at least one minor child was supported in 31.1% of Moldovan households. Large families most often (in 68.2% of cases) live in rural areas. Incomes of households with children in 2020 averaged 2615.9.1 lei per person per month, which is 1.4 times less than in families without children: incomes ranged from 3053 lei per person in families with 1 child to 1844.1 lei in families with 3 or more children. // 01.06.2021 - InfoMarket
