Turkey's elderly population ratio reaches double digits for the first time

According to data compiled from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK), Turkey's population is aging rapidly. The population aged 65 and over reached 8 million 722 thousand 806 people in 2023. Last year, it was observed that 3 million 880 thousand 356 of the elderly population were men, and 4 million 842 thousand 450 were women.

The proportion of the elderly population within the total population was calculated as 3.9 percent in 1935, 3.3 percent in 1950, 4.4 percent in 1970, and 5.7 percent in 2000. This ratio rose to 7.2 percent in 2010 and has continued to increase since that date. This rate, which rose to 9.5 percent in 2020, climbed to 10.2 percent last year, thus reaching double digits for the first time in the history of the Republic.

When provinces are compared in terms of elderly population, Istanbul ranked first last year with 1 million 238 thousand 899 people. Of the elderly population in Istanbul, 707 thousand 114 were women and 531 thousand 785 were men. This province was followed by Ankara with 576 thousand 209 elderly people and İzmir with 573 thousand 856 people.

The provinces with the lowest elderly populations were recorded as Bayburt with 10 thousand 365, Hakkari with 11 thousand 564, and Kilis with 12 thousand 341.

When Istanbul's elderly population is compared with the total populations of other provinces, it surpassed many of them. It was observed that Istanbul's elderly population exceeded the total population of 65 provinces, including Denizli, Sakarya, Muğla, Eskişehir, Malatya, Tekirdağ, and Aydın.

MEDIAN AGE IS ALSO RISING

The "median age," which indicates the age of the person in the middle when the ages of the people making up the population from newborn to the oldest are sorted from smallest to largest, rose from 30.4 in 2013 to 34 last year. It was observed that Sinop was the province with the highest median age value at 42.8. This province was followed by Giresun and Kastamonu with 42.4. While Şanlıurfa was the province with the lowest median age at 21.2, the median age was determined to be 22.7 in Şırnak and 24 in Ağrı.

The ratio of the 65+ population within the total population (1935-2023) is as follows: