One in three Turks expected to be elderly by 2075: Report

ANKARA

The share of the elderly population surpassed 10 percent for the first time in the country’s history in 2023, with projections indicating it could reach 31.7 percent by 2075, according to data released by the country’s statistical institution on July 30.

The Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK)’s population project revealed that the country’s population is aging and the life expectancy at birth is rising.

All three scenarios conducted by the institute predicted an increase in both the share of the elderly population — aged 65 and older — and the median age, which are key indicators of the population's age structure.

It is anticipated that the population's age and gender distribution will continue to shift, including changes in fertility, an increase in the aging population, and a decline in youth and working-age populations.

The working-age population — those between the ages of 15 and 64 — constituted 68.3 percent of the total population in 2023. According to the primary scenario, this percentage is expected to decrease to 61.9 percent by 2050, 55.9 percent by 2075, and further decline to 54.6 percent by 2100.

Children between the ages 0-14 make up 21.4 percent of the population, according to 2023 data, with the primary scenario predicting that this rate would fall to 15.1 percent in 2050, 12.4 percent in 2075 and 11.8 percent in 2100.

TÜİK stated that the country's projected age structures are not very advantageous for development, as the elderly population rate is estimated to exceed 15 percent in the first half of 2030.