Türkiye’s elderly population surpasses 96 countries, including Switzerland and New Zealand

By Serhat Tutak and Emir Yildirim

Türkiye’s elderly population of 9.1 million exceeds that of 96 countries, including Switzerland, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, and Armenia, according to official data.

Türkiye’s total population stood at 85.6 million in 2023, with 10.6% classified as elderly, according to figures from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) compiled by Anadolu.

Globally, the elderly accounted for 10.2% of the world’s 8.1 billion population last year.

China led the world in elderly population with 208.1 million seniors, followed by India with 103.7 million and the US with 61.9 million.

Monaco had the highest percentage of elderly residents, making up 36.2% of its total population of 38,631, followed by Japan (29.8%), Italy (24.6%), Portugal (24.5%), and Greece (23.9%).

Conversely, Qatar had the lowest elderly population ratio at 1.7%, followed by the UAE (1.8%), Zambia (1.9%), Chad and Sudan (2.1%), and the Central African Republic (2.2%).