Penza, 2 March 2015. PenzaNews. The population of the Penza region is the most elderly among the regions of the Volga Federal District, states the online report of the regional department of the Ministry of Health. The document was published in response to the article of the All-Russia People’s Front (ARPF), titled “’Health’ foundation experts discussed causes behind poor health, demography in the Penza region.”

According to the presented data, mortality rates in the Penza region last year did exceed the average level in the state and the Volga Federal District: however, this tendency has been firmly decreasing within the past 15 years.

According to the regional department of the Ministry of Health, relatively high mortality rates are caused by the structure of the local population. The pensioners comprise as much as 27.4% of the population, reaching 29.1% in rural areas.

The region has the most elderly population in the Volga Federal District. In Russia, the Penza region is ranked the 7th out of 85 regions. The average age of men and women here is 41.69 years, compared to 39.37 years in Russia as a whole, or 39.7 years in the Volga Federal District.

At the same time, life expectancy in 2014 grew by 7 months up to 71.54 years, which is second to Tatarstan’s.

As all through Russia, the Penza region has a downward tendency in the numbers of women aged 20-29; Compared to 2013, their numbers decreased by 8,600 persons.