Türkiye about to be ‘old country': Statistics

Bülent Sarıoğlu – ISTANBUL

The percentage of elderly people in the total population has reached 9.7, with only 0.3 percent left to call Türkiye an “old country,” the statistics have showed.

According to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK), the number of the people over the age of 65 in Türkiye is exactly 8,245,124. Country’s total population is around 84 million.

TÜİK data showed that the percentage of the elderly citizens will reach 12 in 2030, 20 in 2050 and 25 in 2080.

The situation has been a hot topic in the Turkish Parliament last week, with the parliament’s “Problems of the Elderly Research Commission” handling the case.

“Unfortunately, the elderly population of Türkiye and the world is increasing,” said Erol Kaya, the head of the commission.

“Currently, a citizen over 65 is living in one of every four households, and around 1.5 million elderly people live on their own,” he added.

An international study held in 2021 with over 11,000 participants showed the link between “heart diseases and loneliness.”

According to the United Nations criteria, a country with 10 percent of elderly people in its total population enters the category of “country with old-aged society.”

When asked about the ratio of the provinces in which elderly people live, Kaya said, “In eastern and southeastern provinces, the percentage of the elderly people is between 3.5 and 5 of the total populations of the provinces.”

“However, the rate hits around 20 percent in some Black Sea provinces like Sinop or Kastamonu.”

Hayri Baraçlı, the general secretary of the Union of the Turkish Municipalities, was an expert attending the latest session of the commission.

“An elderly person over 65 in Türkiye has an average of 18 years life span,” he said and added: “The percentage of males over 65 who lost their wives, is around 12. The percentage in females is nearly 50.”

Baraçlı reminded that “most old people live their last days without a spouse near them.”

The commission now has a target to combine them, the so called “A Generation,” with the new “Z Generation,” colloquially known as “zoomers,” born between 1990s and early 2010s.

According to the commission members, three main factors force the elderly to “lose their value” in the eyes of the young generations.

Firstly, the elderly people do not “consume” and be a part of the economy like the rest of the population. Secondly, the media presents the elderly in negative ways and thirdly, “retirement is shown as a downfall” in public.

When asked about the power of the elderly people in politics, the data showed that the elderly people are not a “prominent force” as voters, too.

“The percentage of the elderly voters is 15. However, elderly people do not lean on a political movement or a party as a whole. So their political power is less than thought,” a commission member said.

On the contrary, the country is making projects one after another to promote them to join the public.

For example, new “elderly-friendly buildings” are constructed to allow them access to the streets easily.

Many municipalities are organizing hobby courses or training them to be “volunteer traffic police.”