GENDER AND AGE GROUP STRUCTURES IN MURE Ş COUNTY , AT THE 2011 CENSUS

– Gender and Age Group Structures in Mureş County, at the 2011 Census. The importance of possessing knowledge regarding the above mentioned component stems from territorial demographic and social‐economic planning. Thusly, we emphasized the population gender structure, starting with both genders (BG), followed by male (M) and female (F) populations. We then proceeded to examine age groups, according to the logical succession comprising young people (0‐19 years of age), adults (20‐59 years), and seniors (≥ 60 years). The demographic pyramid of Mureş County reveals the same aging process recorded at national level, with a regressive population, where young people register increasingly lower values, while elderly people are more numerous. Age group structure is also influenced by other exogenous factors, such as migration (internal and external). The young urban population of Mureş County is lower (19.89%) than in rural areas (24.93%), while the latter areas have an older population (23%) compared to urban areas (21.72%). The adult population dominates all of the county’s administrative‐territorial units, the highest values having been recorded in urban settlements (58.39%), where the county seat, the city of Târgu Mureș, reigns supreme (60.08%), while rural areas registered an average of 52.09%, with higher values (above 60%) only in Corunca and Sângeorgiu de Mureş.


INTRODUCTION
The authors of the study are at their third analysis of the gender and age structure of the population registered at the 2011 Census.The first study involved the County of Harghita, while the second Covasna County, both having been published in the Annals of Oradea University, Geography Series (XXVI, no.1&2/2016) (see references).
We employed data from the Population and Household Census of 2011, the National Institute of Statistics enabling the possibility to freely access the necessary geodemographic indicators.We must also point out that the Mureş County Statistical Department (http://www.mures.insse.ro) is among the few in Romania which offers online data at microscalar level (component settlements and villages).
The second stage of the research involved the data analysis, processing and interpretation, in the form of tables, graphs and maps, thus insuring a proper dissemination of the results.We also used several scientific papers and studies that tackled this component (Pop et al., 1973;Surd, 2001;Pop, 2002;Pop et al., 2015;Tofan, 2014 b), focused either on the entire county (Şoneriu & Mac, 1973) or on certain of its areas (Tofan, 2014 a), as well as the methodological guidebooks written by Vert in 1995 and 2001.

THE GENDER AND AGE STRUCTURE OF THE POPULATION OF MUREŞ COUNTY
At the census held on 20th October 2011, the County of Mureș registered 550,846 inhabitants, 48.82% (268,941 people) being male, while 51.18% (281,905 people) female.

The male population of Mureş County
It ammounted to 268,941 people (48.82%) and it also can be divided into three main age groups: young people, numbering 63,418 or 23.58% (0-19 years); adults, with a number of 153,968 or 57.25% (20-59 years), and elderly with 51,555 people or a percentage of 19.17%.In terms of the entire 102 administrativeterritorial units that comprise the county, the percentages of males were highly varied.
b) The adults age group (20-59 years) registered an average of 57.25% (153,968 inhabitants).Percentages around the average or 56-58% were recorded in four urban areas and 22 rural areas.Most units comprised the below 56% category (61 to be more exact, Băla, with 42.86%, having the lowest value), while the above 58% only included 15 settlements (Corunca, 61.87%, had the highest percentage of males).
Values below 18% were recorded in 32 units, the commune of Apold having the lowest percentage (11.68%),while values above 20% were repoertd in the remaining 48 units, Băla again registering the lowest numbers (41.30%).

The female population of Mureş County
The female population of Mureș County numbered 281,905 individuals (51.18%) of the county's population.Young females had a percentage of 21.26% (59,935 individuals), the adult 53.35% (150,400 individuals), while the elderly 25.39% (71,570).
Older people averaged 22.35%, while the highest percentage of elderly (46.96%) was registered in Băla, and the lowest in Apold, a rural community where the Gypsy population exceeds 20%.
In urban areas, values below the 21.72% average were recorded in half of the county's towns (Ungheni, Reghin, Sovata, Sighişoara and Târgu-Mureş), areas where adults were numerous.The town of Sărmaşu (25.80%) was at the opposite side, recording the highest value.

Fig. 3 .
Fig. 3.The age group structure of the male population of Mureş County, LAU 2 level, at the 2011 Census

Fig. 4 .
Fig. 4. The age group structure of the female population of Mureş County, LAU 2 level, at the 2011 Census

Table 1 .
The gender and age group structure of Mureş County at the 2011 Census (Data source: 2011 Census)