Russia's population is continuing to age according to statistics showing that every eight person, or 13 percent of the population, is 65-years-old or above, the Labor and Social Affairs Ministry said Friday.
The figures released by the ministry indicate that there are 9 million more pensioners in Russia than under-16s, Interfax reported.
By international standards a population with a share of people over 65 exceeding 7 percent is considered old, Deputy Labor Minister Alexei Vovchenko said.
"The number of people above the working age has been steadily growing in Russia since 2006 and by 2012 it had reached 32.4 million people or 22.7 percent of the general population," he said.
He said the number of people above the working age exceeds the number of people below it by 8.9 million people.
The legal working age in Russia is 16.