The Turkish Statistical Institute announced the results of the study of “The Elderly with Statistics” for the year 2022.
While the population aged 65 and over, which is considered as the elderly population, was 6 million 895 thousand 385 people in 2017, it increased by 22.6% in the last five years and reached 8 million 451 thousand 669 people 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. In 2022, 44.4% of the elderly population was male and 55.6% was female.
According to population projections, it is predicted that the proportion of the elderly population will be 12.9% in 2030, 16.3% in 2040, 22.6% in 2060 and 25.6% in 2080.
It was observed that 64.5% of the elderly population was in the 65-74 age group.
When the elderly population is analyzed by age group, it is seen that 61.6% of the elderly population is in the 65-74 age group, 29.7% is in the 75-84 age group, and 8.6% is in the 85 and over age group. In 2022, 64.5% were in the 65-74 age group, 27.7% were in the 75-84 age group, and 7.9% were in the 85 and over age group.
The number of elderly people aged 100 and over, constituting 0.1% of the elderly population, was 5 thousand 344 in 2022.
The age structure of Turkey’s population has changed
The fact that the proportion of the elderly population in the total population exceeds 10.0% is an indicator of the aging of the population. The elderly population in Turkey increased at a higher rate than the population in other age groups.
In Turkey, which is in the process of “demographic transformation”, which is called the global aging process, the age structure of the population has changed with the decrease in fertility and mortality rates, the developments in the field of health, the increase in the standard of living, welfare level and life expectancy at birth. While the proportion of children and young people in the total population decreased, the proportion of the elderly in the total population increased. Although Turkey still has a young population structure compared to countries with proportionally elderly population structure, the elderly population is quite high numerically.
The median age of Turkey’s population has risen
The median age is the age of the person in the middle when the ages of the people who make up the population, from the newborn baby to the oldest, are ordered from youngest to oldest. The median age, which is one of the indicators giving information about the aging of the population, was 31.7 in 2017 and 33.5 in 2022. The median age in 2022 was 32.8 for men and 34.2 for women.
According to population projections, it is predicted that it will be 35.6 in 2030, 38.5 in 2040, 42.3 in 2060 and 45.0 in 2080.
Elderly dependency rate was 14.5% in 2022
While the elderly dependency ratio, which represents the number of elderly people per hundred people of working age, was 12.6% in 2017, this rate increased to 14.5% in 2022.
According to population projections, it was predicted that the elderly dependency ratio would be 19.6% in 2030, 25.3% in 2040, 37.5% in 2060 and 43.6% in 2080.
Turkey ranked 66th among 184 countries according to the proportion of elderly population.
According to the United Nations world population estimates, the world population for 2022 is estimated to be 7 billion 975 million 105 thousand 156 people, and the elderly population is 782 million 998 thousand 642 people. According to these estimates, 9.8% of the world’s population was composed of the elderly population. The top three countries with the highest proportion of elderly population were Japan with 29.9%, Italy with 24.1% and Finland with 23.3%. Turkey ranked 66th among 184 countries.
The province with the highest rate of elderly population was Sinop
The province with the highest rate of elderly population was Sinop with 20.2% in 2022. This province was followed by Kastamonu with 19.3% and Giresun with 18.0%. The province with the lowest proportion of elderly population was Şırnak with 3.5%. This province was followed by Hakkari with 4.0% and Şanlıurfa with 4.1%.
The number of provinces where the proportion of the elderly population in the total population is 10.0% or more was 52 in 2022.
It was observed that there was at least one elderly person in approximately one out of every 4 households.
In Turkey, in 2022, 6 million 276 thousand 433 out of a total of 26 million 75 thousand 365 households had at least one person aged 65 and over, defined as the elderly population. In other words, 24.1% of the households had at least one elderly person.
It has been seen that 1 million 632 thousand 874 elderly people live alone in Turkey
Of the 6 million 276 thousand 433 households with at least one elderly person, 1 million 632 thousand 874 were elderly individuals living alone. 74.7% of these households were composed of elderly women and 25.3% of them were elderly men.
Burdur was the province with the highest rate of single-person elderly households.
Burdur was the province with the highest ratio of single-person elderly households among households with at least one elderly person, with 35.5% in 2022. This province was followed by Balıkesir with 35.0% and Çanakkale with 34.5%. The province with the lowest rate was Hakkari with 7.8%. This province was followed by Batman with 13.5% and Şırnak with 14.7%.
It was observed that 57.2% of the households with elderly members 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. It was observed that 60.1% of the households in question lived in buildings without elevators, and 39.9% in buildings with elevators.
The rate of literate elderly population was 85.6% in 2021
While the rate of literacy among the elderly population was 80.4% in 2017, it became 85.6% in 2021. While the rate of illiterate elderly population was 19.6% in 2017, it became 14.4% in 2021. The rate of illiterate older women was 5.3 times higher than that of older men in 2021. While the rate of illiterate elderly women was 22.3%, the rate of elderly men was 4.2%.
When the elderly population is analyzed by education level, in 2017, 44.5% of the elderly population is primary school graduate, 6.0% is secondary school or equivalent school/primary school graduate, 6.3% is high school or equivalent school graduate, 6.2% While the rate of those who graduated from primary school in 2021 was 46.5%, the rate of those graduated from secondary school or equivalent school / primary education increased to 8.5%, the rate of those who graduated from high school or equivalent school was 8.6%, The rate of those who did was 7.9%.
The proportion of widowed elderly women was 4.2 times the proportion of widowed elderly men
When the elderly population was analyzed according to legal marital status, it was seen that there were significant differences between the sexes. In 2022, 1.3% of the elderly male population has never been married, 83.7% is officially married, 3.8% is divorced, 11.2% is widowed, while 2.8% of the elderly female population is It was seen that of the participants, 46.1% were married with a civil marriage, 4.2% were divorced, 46.9% were widowed.
Poverty rate of the elderly population was 11.4% in 2021
According to the results of the income and living conditions survey, the poverty rate, which was calculated according to 60% of the equivalent household disposable median income, was 20.1% for Turkey in 2017, while it became 21.3% in 2021. While this rate was 15.5% for the elderly population in 2017, it became 11.4% in 2021.
When the poverty of the elderly population is analyzed by gender, while the poverty rate for elderly men was 13.5% in 2017, it became 9.9% in 2021. While the poverty rate for elderly women was 17.0% in 2017, it became 12.6% in 2021.
The labor force participation rate of the elderly population was 11.3% in 2021
According to labor force statistics, while the labor force participation rate was 52.8% for the population aged 15 and over in 2017, it became 51.4% in 2021. While this rate was 12.2% for the elderly population in 2017, it became 11.3% in 2021. When the labor force participation rate is analyzed by gender, this rate was 18.6% in the elderly male population in 2021, while it was 5.4% in the elderly female population. While the unemployment rate in the elderly population was 2.2% in 2017, it was 3.0% in 2021.
64.3% of the working elderly population took part in the agricultural sector in 2021
According to the labor force statistics, when the sectoral distribution of the employed elderly population is examined, 64.3% of the elderly population is in agriculture, 27.3% in services, 6.3% in industry and 2.1% in construction. seen to have taken.
Elderly people died from circulatory system diseases the most in 2021
According to death and cause of death statistics, 37.6% of the elderly who died in 2021 died due to circulatory system diseases. This disease was followed by respiratory system diseases with 15.0%, and benign and malignant tumors in the third place with 12.0%.
When the causes of death were analyzed by gender, it was seen that the most important difference between the genders was in benign and malignant tumors. The proportion of older men who died from benign and malignant tumors was about twice that of older women. While the rate of elderly men who lost their lives due to benign and malignant tumors was 15.3%, the rate of elderly women was 8.5%.
The proportion of the elderly who died from Alzheimer’s disease was 3.0% in 2021
According to death and cause of death statistics, the number of elderly people who died from Alzheimer’s disease was 13 thousand 642 in 2017 and 12 thousand 239 in 2021. While the rate of elderly people who died from Alzheimer’s disease was 4.6% in 2017, this rate increased to 3.0% in 2021.
When the proportion of elderly people who died from Alzheimer’s disease was analyzed by gender, the ratio of elderly men who died from Alzheimer’s disease in 2021 was 2.2%, while the ratio of elderly women was 3.8%.
31.6% of the elderly individuals stated that they want to live by receiving home care services.
According to the results of the family structure survey, when the life preferences of individuals aged 15 and over are examined when they are too old to care for themselves, 30.7% of them receive home care services, 27.5% stay with their children, and 15.0% go to a nursing home/nursing home. He said he wanted to go.
When the life preferences of elderly individuals when they are too old to take care of themselves are examined, 46.0% stated that they want to stay with their children, 31.6% want to receive home care services, and 10.3% want to go to a nursing home/nursing home.
The rate of elderly individuals being visited several times a week by their children was 55.0%
According to the results of the family structure survey, when the frequency of visits by the children of elderly individuals who do not live in the same house with their children is examined, the rate of being visited several times a week was 55.0%, while the rate of never being visited was 1.3%. The rate of being visited once a week was 9.0%, the rate of being visited several times a month was 15.4%, and the rate of being visited once a month or less frequently was 19.3%.
The rate of elderly individuals who declared that they were happy was 57.7%
According to the results of the life satisfaction survey, while the rate of individuals aged 18 and over who declared that they are happy was 49.7% in 2022, this rate was 57.7% for individuals aged 65 and over. While the rate of elderly individuals with a moderate level of general happiness was 28.6%, the rate of elderly people who declared that they were unhappy was 13.7%.
The source of happiness of the elderly individuals was their families with 59.5%
According to the results of the life satisfaction survey, the most important source of happiness for the elderly in 2017 was their families with 65.8%, their children with 16.5%, their spouses with 7.2%, their grandchildren with 6.4%, and their families with 59.5% in 2022. children with 21.7%, spouses with 7.3% and grandchildren with 7.0%.
The proportion of elderly individuals using the Internet was 36.6% in 2022
According to the results of the household information technologies usage survey, while the rate of individuals in the 65-74 age group using the Internet was 11.3% in 2017, this rate increased to 36.6% in 2022. When the elderly individuals using the Internet were examined by gender, it was seen that men use the Internet more than women. While the rate of elderly men using the Internet was 43.8% in 2022, the rate of elderly women was 30.3%.
