Institucionet e Përkohshme Vetëqeverisëse / Privremena Institucija Samouprave / Provisional Institutions of Self Government Qeveria e Kosovës / Vlada Kosova / Government of Kosovo Ministria e Shërbimeve Publike / Ministarstvo javnih službi / Ministry of Public Services ELDERLY PERSONS IN KOSOVO AGED 100 YEARS AND ABOVE Institucionet e Përkohshme Vetëqeverisëse / Privremena Institucija Samouprave / Provisional Institutions of Self Government Qeveria e Kosovës / Vlada Kosova / Government of Kosovo Ministria e Shërbimeve Publike / Ministarstvo javnih službi / Ministry of Public Services October 1 International Day of Older Persons Publisher: Statistical Office of Kosovo (SOK) Publishing date: December 2007 ©: Statistical Office of Kosovo Reproduction is authorized when source is indicated only. Printed by: K.G.T, Pristina, Kosovo More information is available on the internet: www.ks-gov.net/esk F o r e w o r d We acknowledge and appreciate the entire SOK staff in Pristina and cooperators in the regional offices of Kosovo, for their contribution in this survey. Special acknowledgment goes for the relatives-members of the family supporting and helping this survey by providing necessary information’s for their elderly family members. Also special acknowledgment goes for the people that informed the SOK on their elderly relatives and other elder persons in their neighborhood through e-mail or telephone. Special contribution was also paid by the Radio Television of Kosovo (RTK) by being media sponsor of this project/initiative by supporting population awareness through the TV commercial transmitted for 30 days. This media awareness has positively impacted in the interest of the population inside Kosovo and abroad. Special contribution was also paid by: Mr. Zymer Maxharri, Deputy/Chief of Execution, SOK Mr. Kadri Sojeva, Director of the Department of Population Statistics Mr. Rrahman Tara, Chief of Cartography, SOK Other cooperators: Mr. Idriz Shala Ms. Sanije Uka Ms. Ajshe Avdiu Ms. Shukran Muharremi Design by Mr. Ahmet Cakolli Media sponsor, RTK December, 2007 Chief of Execution, SOK Mr. Avni Kastrati Elderly persons in Kosovo aged 100 years and above 2 Elderly persons in Kosovo aged 100 years and above C o n t e n t Page Introduction...............................................................................................................5 Kosovo’s statistical system.......................................................................................6 The goal of the survey..............................................................................................7 Methodology.............................................................................................................8 The time and duration of the accomplishment of the survey....................................9 Some data on the life expectancy in the world level ................................................9 The most elderly persons in the world....................................................................11 Elderly persons in Kosovo 100+ years of age........................................................12 Some characteristics of elderly persons 100+ years of age...................................12 in Kosovo................................................................................................................12 Territorial scope of elderly persons by municipality ...............................................13 Participation of the elderly persons by permanent residency.................................14 Participation of elderly persons in 100 thousand inhabitants .................................15 Elderly persons by residency and the municipality at birth ....................................17 List of most elderly persons in Kosovo...................................................................18 Elderly persons by year of birth..............................................................................19 Elderly persons by sea-altitude of the place of living .............................................20 Elderly persons in Kosovo by gender.....................................................................20 Elderly persons and their successors.....................................................................21 Elderly persons by occupation ...............................................................................21 Elderly persons and tobacco smoking....................................................................22 Elderly persons and food consumption ..................................................................22 Elderly persons and the use of fat..........................................................................22 Elderly persons and the consumption of alcohol....................................................23 Elderly persons and their health condition .............................................................23 3 Elderly persons in Kosovo aged 100 years and above 4 Elderly persons in Kosovo aged 100 years and above Introduction ”Elderly persons in Kosovo 100+ years of age” is the first survey of this kind in Kosovo. This survey represents some characteristics of this category of people as is the life expectancy, the way of living, feeding, demographic, health and social data, territorial scope as well as other characteristics. At the same time, this survey indicates the life expectancy by considering conditions and circumstances that elderly people of Kosovo lived and are living nowadays. In the lack of information about persons in this age in Kosovo from previous years, we were not able to make comparisons from the view of years – flow and results. But the survey used some world data on life expectancy in order to make some comparisons with this part of population in Kosovo. The data on the survey were released by the family members of the elderly persons. Elderly persons were asked of their valid ID or any other ID document as a proof, they were registered in the list; the ID document or any other ID document was photocopied or photographed. Data were collected by using questionnaire form by direct interview with the elderly persons and their family members. Processing and analyzing of the data was conducted based on the administrative data, field work, the evidence and the statements (given by elderly persons themselves and/or relatives) provided by the SOK teams in the field. The implementation of this project faced some difficulties and also required some additional work in order to accomplish this initiative; working groups were established in order to identify persons, and collect, process and analyze the data. Project was developed in a voluntarily bases by the SOK staff without any financial support, stimulation resources, without sufficient and necessary logistic support to develop the activities of the survey and overtime work had to be applied – including weekends - in order to finalize the survey. Despite these difficulties, the project ended successfully. Due to the lack of the advanced statistical system, and despite the engagement of the SOK staff and population awareness, there is a chance that it might be that some elder persons (100+ years of age) are not included in this survey therefore we apologize and ask for understanding and, at the same time, we appeal the public to inform us for such a persons in order to have a better statistical data for this population. 5 Elderly persons in Kosovo aged 100 years and above Kosovo’s statistical system Statistical systems (statistical institutes), almost in all countries of the world, are constructed in a higher scale of the source of information (from population censuses, different registry books, from administrative or survey data) regarding the social-economic, demographic, educational, health, agriculture and other data. A pure authentic information system facilitates undertaking of the appropriate measures and establishes different social-economic policies in local and national level. Practically, it can be easily said that the developed countries do not draw or even undertake any development plan in the local level without any statistical data on that phenomenon while plans in the national level are not undertaken without detailed statistical data. The engagement of the staff and budgets is needed in order to develop such a system and to establish a sustainable statistical data base on development policies for social progress. The 21 century, by many researchers and scholars, is called the century of information. With its accurate, fast and easily approached information’s, the statistics have its important place and role in the state therefore some states turned their statistical institutes into the government bodies - ministry. Kosovo still lacks such a statistical data base that would help the Kosovo’s government itself, other governmental bodies, NGOs, scientists, researchers, international organizations, individuals, etc, in order to establish social-economic policies. Investments by the side of the Kosovo society towards establishing a statistical system is not sufficient yet. In this respect, Kosovo is still behind many countries in the region. Therefore, while these countries invest from 1 - 3 or even more Euros, in these last two years, Kosovo has invested only 0.24 Euros for head of inhabitant. By the European status, one (1) statistician is foreseen in 4.000 up to 6.000 inhabitants but in Kosovo this average is one (1) statistician in 18,650 inhabitants. This, by itself, means that Kosovo’s statistical system