The number of elderly debtors was 45 thousand in 2002, today it is approaching 3 million!
Credit usage among citizens aged 56 and over in Turkey has increased remarkably over the last 20 years. While the number of debtors, which was at the level of 45 thousand in 2002, exceeded 2.9 million in 2024, it was observed that one in every 30 people uses credit. In the first nine months of 2025, the total credit volume exceeded 223 billion liras, while the daily average borrowing reached 826 million liras.
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Data on credit usage by age group in Turkey shows that borrowing among the population aged 56 and over has increased significantly in recent years. The number of credit users aged 56 and over, which was around 45 thousand out of a population of approximately 65 million in 2002, exceeded 2 million 911 thousand as of 2024. In the first nine months of 2025, this number was recorded as 2 million 555 thousand.
Remarkable jump in rates
According to the data, while one in every 1,440 people was a credit user aged 56 and over in 2002, this rate has risen to one in every 30 people today. During the same period, while Turkey's population increased by 32 percent, the increase in the number of elderly debtors was observed to have reached the level of 6,300 percent.
DISTRIBUTION BY AGE GROUPS
When looking at the details, the number of credit users in the 56-65 age group was at the level of 34 thousand in 2002, while it rose to over 2 million in 2024. In the group aged 66 and over, the number of credit users, which was approximately 10 thousand in 2002, exceeded 624 thousand in the first nine months of 2025.
GROWTH IN CREDIT VOLUME
There has also been a significant increase in the amounts of credit used. In the first nine months of 2025, the total credit volume of citizens aged 56 and over exceeded 223 billion liras, and this figure corresponded to an average daily borrowing of 826 million liras.
IT WAS 45 THOUSAND IN 2002, TODAY IT IS APPROACHING 3 MILLION
Evaluating the issue, Ömer Fethi Gürer stated, "At the end of 23 years, the prosperity that the AK Party promised to Turkey has brought our elderly to the point of borrowing at bank doors, and subsequently struggling to pay off their debts. They have come to live in fear of foreclosure. We now have an elderly and indebted population. During the AKP era, the number of indebted elderly people increased 64-fold. The number of indebted elderly people, which could not fill a stadium in 2002, has reached the population of a large city today. We are a country where citizens over the age of 56 borrow an average of 826 million liras per day. The number of indebted elderly people, which was only 45 thousand in 2002, is approaching 3 million today. While the population increased by 32 percent, the number of indebted elderly people skyrocketed by 6,300 percent."