Elderly Statistics, 2022

Elderly population became 8 million 451 thousand 669 persons

While the elderly population including 65 years and over was 6 million 895 thousand 385 persons in 2017, it increased by 22.6% in the last five years and became 8 million 451 thousand 669 persons in 2022. While the proportion of the elderly population in the total population was 8.5% in 2017, it increased to 9.9% in 2022. 44.4% of elderly population was males and 55.6% was females in 2022.

According to the population projections, the proportion of elderly population was expected to be 12.9% in 2030, 16.3% in 2040, 22.6% in 2060 and 25.6% in 2080.

Proportion of population by age group, 1935-2080

Source: TurkStat, Population Censuses, 1935-2000
TurkStat, Address Based Population Registration System, 2008-2022
TurkStat, 2018 Population Projections, 2030-2080

64.5% of elderly population was in 65-74 age group

When elderly population was examined by age group, it was seen that while 61.6% of the elderly population was in the age group of 65-74, 29.7% of it in the age group of 75-84 and 8.6% in the age of 85 and over in 2017, 64.5% of the elderly population was in the age group of 65-74, 27.7% of it in the age group of 75-84 and 7.9% in the age of 85 and over in 2022.

The number of centenarians which constituted 0.1% of elderly population was 5 thousand 344 in 2022.

Proportion of elderly population by age group, 2017, 2022

Source: TurkStat, Address Based Population Registration System, 2017, 2022

Figures in graph may not add up to totals due to rounding.

Age structure of Türkiye's population was changed

Passing the proportion of 10.0% of the elderly population in the total population is an indicator of the aging population. In Türkiye, the elderly population increased with a rate higher than that of other age groups.

Türkiye is in the process of demographic transition, which is called the global aging process. Türkiye's shape of age structure changed with advances in public health, better living conditions, increases in welfare level and life expectancy along with decreasing rates of fertility and mortality. The proportion of children and youth in the total population decreased, whereas the proportion of elderly people in the total population increased. Even though Türkiye has a young population among countries with older age structure, the absolute number of elderly population is quite high.

Population pyramid, 1935, 1975, 2022

Source: TurkStat, Population Censuses, 1935, 1975
TurkStat, Address Based Population Registration System, 2022

Median age of Türkiye's population increased

The median age is the age of the person in the middle when the ages of the all people in the population are sorted from the new-born baby to the oldest. The median age, one of the indicators of aging population, was 31.7 in 2017 and 33.5 in 2022. The median age was 32.8 for males and 34.2 for females in 2022.

According to the population projections, the median age was expected to be 35.6 in 2030, 38.5 in 2040, 42.3 in 2060 and 45.0 in 2080.

Elderly dependency ratio was 14.5% in 2022

Elderly dependency ratio means that the number of elderly persons per hundred persons in working age. While the elderly dependency ratio was 12.6% in 2017, this ratio increased to 14.5% in 2022.

According to the population projections, elderly dependency ratio was expected to be 19.6% in 2030, 25.3% in 2040, 37.5% in 2060 and 43.6% in 2080.

Türkiye was in the 66th rank among 184 countries by the proportion of elderly population

According to the United Nations population estimates, the world population was 7 billion 975 million 105 thousand 156 people and the elderly population was 782 million 998 thousand 642 people in 2022. According to these estimates, 9.8% of the world population was elderly population. The three countries that had highest proportion of elderly population were Japan with 29.9%, Italy with 24.1% and Finland with 23.3%, respectively. Türkiye was in the 66th rank among 184 countries.

The first 10 countries with the highest and lowest proportion of elderly population, 2022

Source: United Nations World Population Prospects, 2022
TurkStat, Address Based Population Registration System, 2022

Province with the highest proportion of elderly population was Sinop

The province that had the highest proportion of elderly population was Sinop with 20.2% in 2022. This province was followed by Kastamonu with 19.3%, Giresun with 18.0%. The provinces that had the lowest proportion of elderly population was Şırnak with 3.5%. This province was followed by Hakkari with 4.0%, Şanlıurfa with 4.1%.

The first 10 provinces with the highest and lowest proportion of elderly population, 2022

Source: TurkStat, Address Based Population Registration System, 2022

The number of provinces where the proportion of the elderly population in the total population is 10.0% or more was 52 in 2022.

Elderly population ratio by provinces, 2022

Source: TurkStat, Address Based Population Registration System, 2022

There were at least one elderly person in about one in 4 households

In Türkiye, 6 million 276 thousand 433 households out of 26 million 75 thousand 365 households consisted of at least one elderly person aged 65 and over in 2022. In other words, at least one elderly person lived in 24.1% of households.

There were 1 million 632 thousand 874 elderly people living alone in Türkiye

In Türkiye, 1 million 632 thousand 874 households out of 6 million 276 thousand 433 households consisted of one elderly person living alone. 74.7% of these households was elderly females and 25.3% was elderly males.

Proportion of elderly population by type of household, 2022

Source: TurkStat, Address Based Population Registration System, 2022

The province with the highest proportion of one-person elderly households was Burdur

The province that had the highest proportion of one-person elderly households in the households with at least one elderly person was Burdur with 35.5% in 2022. This province was followed by Balıkesir with 35.0% and Çanakkale with 34.5%. The provinces that had the lowest proportion of one person elderly households was Hakkari with 7.8%. This province was followed by Batman with 13.5% and Şırnak with 14.7%.

Top 10 provinces with the highest and the lowest proportion of one-person elderly households, 2022

Source: TurkStat, Address Based Population Registration System, 2022

57.2% of households with elderly person resided in buildings with 3 or more floors

It was observed that 57.2% of the households with at least one elderly person resided in buildings with 3 or more floors. While 60.1% of these households resided in buildings without a lift, 39.9% of them resided in buildings with a lift.

Proportion of literate elderly population was 85.6% in 2021

While the proportion of literate elderly population was 80.4% in 2017, it was 85.6% in 2021. While the proportion of illiterate elderly population was 19.6% in 2017, it was 14.4% in 2021. It was seen that the proportion of illiterate elderly female population was about 5.3 times higher than that of elderly male population in 2021. While the proportion of illiterate elderly female population was 22.3%, this proportion was 4.2% for elderly male population.

Literacy level of elderly population by sex, 2017, 2021

Source: TurkStat, National Education Statistics Database, 2017, 2021

When elderly population was examined by level of education, it was seen that while 44.5% of elderly population was primary school, 6.0% of them was junior high school or equivalent/primary education, 6.3% of them was high school or equivalent, 6.2% of them was higher education graduates in 2017, these proportions were 46.5% in primary school, 8.5% in junior high school or equivalent/primary education, 8.6% in high school or equivalent and 7.9% in higher education graduates in 2021.

When the level of education of elderly population was examined by sex, it was seen that there was a significant difference between sexes. It was seen that the proportion of the elderly male population was higher than that of female population at all completed levels of education.

Proportion of elderly population by the level of education, 2017, 2021

Source: TurkStat, National Education Statistics Database, 2017, 2021
Figures in graph may not add up to totals due to rounding.

Proportion of widowed elderly females was 4.2 times higher than those of males

When elderly population was examined by legal marital status, it was seen that there were significant differences between sexes. While 1.3% of elderly male population was never married, 83.7% of them was formally married, 3.8% of them was divorced and 11.2% of them was widowed, it was seen that 2.8% of elderly female population was never married, 46.1% of them was formally married, 4.2% of them was divorced and 46.9% of them was widowed in 2022.

Proportion of elderly population by marital status and sex, 2022

Source: TurkStat, Address Based Population Registration System, 2022

Poverty rate was 11.4% for elderly population in 2021

According to the results of income and living conditions survey, while poverty rate calculated by using 60% of equalised household disposable median income was 20.1% for Türkiye in 2017, this rate was 21.3% in 2021. While poverty rate for elderly population was 15.5% in 2017, this rate was 11.4% in 2021.

When the poverty of elderly population was examined by sex, it was seen that while the poverty rate for elderly male population was 13.5% in 2017, this rate was 9.9% in 2021. While the poverty rate for elderly female population was 15.5% in 2017, this rate was 12.6% in 2021.

Labour force participation rate was 11.3% for elderly population in 2021

According to the results of household labour force survey, while the labour force participation rate for 15 and over aged population was 52.8% in 2017, this rate was 51.4% in 2021. While the labour force participation rate for elderly population was 12.2% in 2017, this rate was 11.3% in 2021. When the labour force participation rate was examined by sex, it was seen that this rate was 18.6% for elderly male population, and it was 5.4% for elderly female population in 2021. While the unemployment rate of elderly population was 2.2% in 2017, it was 3.0% in 2021.

Labour force status by age group and sex, 2021

Source: TurkStat, Labour Force Statistics, 2021

64.3% of employed elderly population was in agricultural sector in 2021

According to the labour force statistics, when the sectoral distribution of employed elderly population was examined, it was seen that elderly population was employed in agricultural sector with 64.3%, services sector with 27.3%, industry sector with 6.3% and construction sector with 2.1% in 2021.

Elderly people died mostly from diseases of the circulatory system in 2021

According to the death and causes of death statistics, 37.6% of elderly people lost their lives from diseases of the circulatory system in 2021. This was followed by respiratory system diseases with 15.0%, the neoplasms with 12.0%.

When the causes of death were examined by sex, it was seen that the most important difference between sexes was in neoplasms. The proportion of elderly male people died from neoplasms was about twice as high as that of elderly female people. While the proportion of elderly male people died from neoplasms was 15.3%, this proportion was 8.5% for elderly female people.

Proportion of elderly deceased people by causes of death and sex, 2021

Source: TurkStat, Death and Causes of Death Statistics, 2021
Figures in graph may not add up to totals due to rounding.

Proportion of elderly people who died from Alzheimer's disease was 3.0% in 2021

According to the death and causes of death statistics, while the number of elderly people who died from Alzheimer's disease was 13 thousand 642 in 2017, it was 12 thousand 239 in 2021. While the proportion of elderly people who died from Alzheimer's disease was 4.6% in 2017, this proportion became 3.0% in 2021.

When the proportion of elderly people who died from Alzheimer's disease was examined by sex, while the proportion of elderly male people who died from Alzheimer's disease was 2.2%, the proportion of elderly female people 3.8%.

Proportion of elderly people deceased from Alzheimer's disease by sex, 2010-2021

Source: TurkStat, Causes of Death Statistics, 2010-2017
TurkStat, Death and Causes of Death Statistics, 2018-2021

31.6% of the elderly individuals stated that they want to live by receiving home care services

According to the results of family structure survey when the life preferences of individuals aged 15 and over were examined when they are too old to take care of themselves, 30.7% stated that they want to receive home care services, 27.5% want to stay with their children and 15.0% want to go to a nursing home.

When the life preferences of elderly individuals when they are too old to take care of themselves were examined, 46.0% of them stated that they want to stay with their children, 31.6% of them get home care services and 10.3% of them go to a nursing home.

Proportion of life preferences of individuals when they are too old to take care of themselves, 2021

Source: Türkiye Family Structure Survey, 2021
Figures in graph may not add up to totals due to rounding.

The proportion of elderly individuals being visited several times a week by their children was 55.0%

According to the results of family structure survey when the frequency of visits by the children of individuals elderly persons who do not live in the same house with their children was analyzed; while the proportion of those who were visited several times a week was 55.0%, the proportion of those who were never visited was 1.3%. The proportion of those who were visited once a week was 9.0%, the proportion of those who were visited several times a month was 15.4%, the proportion of those who were visited once a month or less frequently was 19.3%.

Proportion of elderly people who declared themselves as happy was 57.7%

According to the results of life satisfaction survey, while the proportion of individuals aged 18 and over who declared themselves as happy was 49.7% in 2022, this proportion was 57.7% for individuals aged 65 and over. While the rate of elderly individuals neither happy nor unhappy was 28.6%, the rate of elderly people who declared that they were unhappy was 13.7%.

General level of happiness by age group and sex, 2022

Source: TurkStat, Life Satisfaction Survey, 2022
Figures in graph may not add up to totals due to rounding.

Source of happiness for elderly people was their families with 59.5%

According to the results of life satisfaction survey, sources of happiness for elderly people was their families with 65.8%, their children with 16.5%, their spouses with 7.2% and their grandchildren with 6.4% in 2017. In 2022, sources of happiness for elderly people was their families with 59.5%, their children with 21.7%, their spouses with 7.3% and their grandchildren with 7.0%.

Proportion of elderly people using Internet was 36.6% in 2022

According to the results of information and communication technology usage survey in households and by individuals, while the proportion of elderly people using Internet in the 65-74 age group was 11.3% in 2017, this proportion increased to 36.6% in 2022. When the elderly people using Internet were examined by sex, it was seen that males used Internet more than females. While the proportion of elderly males using Internet was 43.8%, the proportion of elderly females was 30.3% in 2021.

Proportion of using Internet of elderly people, 2017, 2022

Source: TurkStat, Information and Communication Technology Usage Survey in Households and by Individuals, 2017, 2022

The next release on this subject will be on March, 2024.
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EXPLANATIONS

Turkish Statistical Institute has been started to publish press releases on special occasions with reference to the importance of the day since 2012. In the framework of "Respect for Elderly Week", the press release prepared specifically for elderly population includes socio-economic characteristics of the elderly population such as demographic structure, education, marital status, poverty, employment status, life satisfaction, etc.