Proportion of elderly population increased by 17.1% in the last five years
While the elderly population (65 years and over) was 5 million 682 thousand 3 persons in 2012, it increased by 17.1% in the last five years and became 6 million 651 thousand 503 persons in 2016. While the proportion of the elderly population in the total population was 7.5% in 2012, it increased to 8.3% in 2016. 43.9% of elderly population was males and 56.1% was females.
While 60.3% of the elderly population was in the age group of 65-74, 32.5% of it in the age group of 75-84 and 7.1% in the age group of 85 and over in 2012, 61.5% of the elderly population was in the age group of 65-74, 30.2% of it in the age group of 75-84 and 8.2% in the age of 85 and over in 2016.
Proportion of elderly population by age group, 2012, 2016
In 2016, 8.7% of the world population was elderly population. The three countries that had highest proportion of elderly population were Monaco with 31.3%, Japan with 27.3% and Germany with 21.8%, respectively. Turkey was in the 66th rank among 167 countries.
Life expectancy increased
According to the 2015 life tables, life expectancy at birth is 78 years at total, 75.3 years for men and 80.7 years for women in Turkey. In general, women live longer than men and the difference in life expectancy at birth is 5.4 years.
In Turkey for persons at 65 years old, the average remaining life span is 17.8 years for total, 16.1 years for males and 19.4 years for females. In other words, for persons at 65 years old, women are expected to live 3.3 years more than men on average.
Life expectancy by sex and age, 2015
Elderly dependency ratio was 12.3% in 2016
Elderly dependency ratio means that the number of elderly persons per hundred persons in working age. While the elderly dependency ratio was 11.1% in 2012, this ratio increased to 12.3% in 2016.
Province with the highest proportion of elderly population was Sinop
The province that had the highest proportion of elderly population was Sinop with 18.1% in 2016. This province was followed by Kastamonu with 16.5% and Çankırı with 15.4%. The provinces that had the lowest proportion of elderly population was Şırnak with 3.2%. This province was followed by Hakkari with 3.3% and Van with 3.6%.
Number of centenarians was 5 thousand 232
The number of centenarians which constituted 0.1% of elderly population was 5 thousand 232 in 2016. While the first three provinces that had the highest centenarians were İstanbul (680 persons), Şanlıurfa (237 persons) and Ankara (219 persons), the first three provinces that had the lowest centenarians were Ardahan (2 persons), Bilecik (4 persons) and Bayburt (7 persons).
Proportion of educated elderly population increased
While the proportion of illiterate elderly population was 29.2% in 2011, it decreased to 21.9% in 2015. It was seen that the proportion of illiterate elderly female population was four times higher than that of elderly male population. While the proportion of illiterate elderly female population was 32.6% in 2015, this proportion was 8.2% for elderly male population.
When the level of education of elderly population was examined, it was seen that while 39.4% of elderly population was primary school, 4.1% of them was junior high school or equivalent/primary education, 4.5% of them was high school or equivalent, 4.1% of them was higher education graduates in 2011, these proportions increased to 43% in primary school, 5.2% in junior high school or equivalent/primary education, 5.6% in high school or equivalent and 5.4% in higher education graduates in 2015.
When the level of education of elderly population was examined by sex, it was seen that there was a significant difference between sexes. It was seen that the proportion of the elderly male population was higher than that of female population at all levels of education.
Proportion of widowed elderly males was 12.7%, elderly females was 50.4%
When elderly population was examined by legal marital status, it was seen that there was a significant difference between sexes. While 1.1% of elderly male population was never married, 83.3% of them was formally married, 2.9% of them was divorced and 12.7% of them was widowed, it was seen that 2.4% of elderly female population was never married, 44% of them was formally married, 3.3% of them was divorced and 50.4% of them was widowed in 2016.
76.7% of the elderly population living alone was females
According to the results of Address Based Population Registration System, the proportion of one person elderly households was 5.4% in total households and 36% in total one person households in 2016. 22.5% of the total households had at least one elderly person. The proportion of elderly population living alone was 23.3% for males and 76.7% for females.
The province that had the highest proportion of one person elderly households in total households was Sinop with 11.1% in 2016. This province was followed by Burdur with 10.7% and Çankırı with 10.4%. The province that had the lowest proportion of one person elderly households in total households was Hakkari with 1.2%. This province was followed by Van with 1.8% and Şırnak with 1.9%.
Elderly poverty rate increased
According to the results of income and living conditions survey, while poverty rate calculated by using 60% of equalised household disposable median income was 22.6% for Turkey, this rate was 21.9% in 2015. While poverty rate for elderly population was 17% in 2011, this rate increased to 18.3% in 2015.
When the poverty of the elderly population was examined by sex, it was seen that while the poverty rate for elderly male population was 15.9% in 2011, this rate increased to 17.8% in 2015. While the poverty rate for elderly female population was 17.9% in 2011, this rate increased to 18.6% in 2015.
Labour force participation rate was 11.9% for elderly population
According to the results of household labour force survey, while the labour force participation rate for 15 years and over was 51.3%, this rate was 11.9% for elderly population in 2015. Also, this rate was 19.9% for elderly male population and 5.8% for elderly female population. The unemployment rate of elderly population was 2.4%.
72.8% of employed elderly population was in agricultural sector
According to the results of household labour force survey, when the sectoral distribution of employed elderly population was examined, it was seen that elderly population was employed in agricultural sector with 72.8% and services sector with 20.4% in 2015.
Number of elders benefiting from the old-age assistance was 620 thousand 19
According to the records of the Ministry of Family and Social Policies, in accordance with the Law No. 2022 on the “Providing Old-Age Assistance to Poor, Weakness and Homeless Turkish Republic People Who Completed 65 Years Old” the number of beneficiaries Who were found to be in need was 620 thousand 19, while the proportion was 9.3% in total elderly population in 2016. The average annual amount of benefit made per the elderly was 2 thousand 548 TL.
One of the both elderly people was satisfied from their general health status
According to the results of life satisfaction survey, while the proportion of elderly people who declared that they were satisfied from their general health status was 43.1% in 2012, this proportion increased to 45.3% in 2016. While the proportion of elderly male people who declared that they were satisfied from their general health status was 53%, this proportion was 39.4% for elderly female people in 2016.
Elderly people died from circulatory system diseases mostly
According to the causes of death statistics, 46.3% of elderly people lost their lives from circulatory system diseases in 2015. This was followed by neoplasm diseases with 16.5% and respiratory system diseases with 13%.
When the causes of death were examined by sex, it was seen that the most important difference between sexes was in neoplasm diseases. The proportion of elderly male people died from neoplasm diseases was about twice as high as that of elderly female people. While the proportion of elderly male people died from neoplasm diseases was 21.5%, this proportion was 11.6% for elderly female people.
Number of elderly people who died from Alzheimer’s disease doubled
According to the causes of death statistics, while the number of elderly people who died from Alzheimer’s disease was 6 thousand 155 in 2011, it increased to 11 thousand 997 in 2015. While the proportion of elderly people who died from Alzheimer’s disease was 2.9% in 2011, this proportion increased to 4.3% in 2015.
When the proportion of elderly people who died from Alzheimer’s disease was examined by sex, it was seen that there was an increase in both sexes. While the proportion of elderly people who died from Alzheimer’s disease was 2.4% for males and 3.4% for females in 2011, these proportions increased to 3.5% for males and 5.2% for females in 2015.
The proportion of elderly people who were always or frequently visited by their children was 71.7%
According to the results of family structure survey, elderly people who did not live in the same household with their children, were always or frequently visited by their children with the proportion of 71.7% in 2016. The proportion of elderly people sometimes visited by their children was 20%, and rarely or never visited was 8.3%.
40.2% of elders declared that they want to coresidence with their children
According to family structure survey, when they are so old that they could not care themselves, the proportion of elders who want to coresidence with his/her children was 40.2%, the proportion of elders desiring to get home care service was 38.6% and the proportion of elders desiring to go nursing home was 7.7% in 2016. The proportion of the elderly people who did not have any idea was 12.9%.
Not to be a burden on children was the most important reason for desiring to stay in the nursing home of elderly people
According to the results of family structure survey, the most important reason for desiring to stay in the nursing home of elderly individuals was that they do not want to be a burden on his/her children with 48.9% when they are so old that they could not care themselves in 2016. The second important reason was that facilities in nursing home are more comfortable with 20.2% and the third important reason was that his/her children might not like to coresidence with them with 11.2%.
Reasons for considering nursing home as a future life preference in elderly people, 2016
Proportion of elderly people who declared themselves as happy increase
According to the results of life satisfaction survey, while the proportion of elderly people who declared themselves as happy was 56.8% in 2015, this proportion increased to 64.5% in 2016. When the general level of happiness was examined by sex, 66.2% of elderly males and 63.2% of elderly females declared themselves as happy.
Source of happiness for elderly people was their families with 64.2%
According to the results of life satisfaction survey, the most important source of happiness for elderly people was their families with 64.2% in 2016. The second source of happiness for elderly people was their children with 18.1%.
Proportion of elderly people using Internet increased by 2.5 times
According to the results of information and communication technology usage survey in households and by individuals, while the proportion of elderly people using Internet in the 65-74 age group was 3.6% in April 2012, this proportion increased to 8.8% in April 2016. When the elderly people using Internet were examined by sex, it was seen that males used Internet more than females. While the proportion of elderly males using Internet was 12.5% in 2016, the proportion of elderly females was 5.8%.
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