Demographic Winter in Turkey

From the Hurriyet Daily News:

Turkey is at risk of joining “too old” countries by 2023, as the latest population projections released by state-run statistics body indicate that the proportion of elderly people will rise to above 10 percent within 10 years.

The ratio of elderly people – defined as those aged 65 years and over – was 7.7 percent in 2013, but will rise to 10.2 percent in 2023, 20.8 percent in 2050 and 27.7 percent in 2075, according to the population projections announced by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK).

... The growth rate of the elderly population was 36.2 percent last year, while the overall population growth rate in Turkey was 13.7 percent, the TÜİK stated.

... The remarkable shift in the young-old balance in Turkey means an increasing number of potential beneficiaries of health and pension funds are supported by a relatively smaller number of potential contributors.

In Turkey, the old age dependency ratio, which is the number of elderly people of non-working age per 100 people, has also been rising. The figure was 11 in 2013 and is expected to be 19 in 2030, indicating that the number of old people who need to be taken care of will rise.

The TÜİK research also suggested that the most important income source of elderly people consisted of “social transfers.”