August 2025
18Aug

Turkey is heading towards a demographic shift. An aging society versus the lowest number of children

The latest data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜIK) reveals a striking demographic shift in the country, as the number of children declines to unprecedented levels alongside a noticeable increase in the elderly population, raising concerns about the future of demographic balance. The figures show that the number of children under the age of four has decreased this year to about 4.9 million children only, the lowest number recorded in Turkey's history. In contrast, the number of those over the...

August 18, 2025
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May 2025
14May

Türkiye’s birth rate falls further, deepening alarm over below-replacement fertility

The number of live births in Türkiye fell to 937,000 in 2024, as the average number of children per woman declined to 1.48—well below the replacement level of 2.1, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) reported on Tuesday. The total fertility rate refers to the average number of children a woman is expected to have over her reproductive lifetime, defined as the 15–49 age group. Compared with the EU average fertility rate of 1.38, Türkiye ranked 9th among member states and candidate countries....

May 14, 2025
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April 2025
07Apr

Turkey. Fast aging population in agriculture threatens food security

The aging population in Türkiye’s agriculture is posing a risk to the country’s food security, Union of Turkish Agricultural Chambers (TZOB) President Şemsi Bayraktar has warned, calling for urgent action to lure the young population into the industry. The average age of farmers rose to 59 last year with the average being 58 for men and 61 for women, Bayraktar said. Some 35 percent of them are over 65 years old, and another 35 percent are between the ages of 50 and 64,...

April 7, 2025
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04Apr

Türkiye takes measures to boost birth rate as demographic crisis looms

The Turkish government is taking significant steps to counteract a troubling demographic decline, introducing numerous incentives aimed at reversing the falling birth rate. Türkiye has declared 2025 the "Year of the Family," an initiative designed to promote childbirth, while its Ministry of Family and Social Services has unveiled a comprehensive program intended to support working mothers, which includes establishing public nurseries and kindergartens to facilitate childcare. The country's birth rate has steadily declined for years, reaching a low of 958,000 births...

April 4, 2025
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January 2025
13Jan

Turkish Parliament set to discuss new bills, pensions

Parliament’s General Assembly will resume its weekly work on Tuesday with an agenda dominated by draft bills and a debate on pensions. Lawmakers will discuss the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) bill for the establishment of the Turkish Justice Academy, an educational institution first of its kind for intra-judiciary training. The bill proposes the eligibility of judges and prosecutors with at least an eight-year career in the profession for assignment to the academy. The academy will also host...

January 13, 2025
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October 2024
21Oct

Reform for Turkish pension system urged amid inflation, early retirement, population aging

Amidst the high cost of living, a culture of early retirement, and a demographic outlook featuring population aging and a low birth rate, Türkiye's pension system is under great pressure and requires urgent reforms, experts have said. According to the state-managed Social Security Institution (SGK), some 16.4 million people receive retirement and old-age pensions in Türkiye, a country with a population of over 85 million. However, as data from Türkiye's Retirees Association showed, about one-fourth of all those retirees continue to...

October 21, 2024
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04Oct

Labor Market Gender Gaps in Türkiye: A Bird’s Eye View

By Silvia Domit & Damla Kesimal Despite recent improvements, Türkiye’s low female labor force participation and high share of informal female workers stand out internationally. Closing these gender gaps would boost medium-term growth and make it more inclusive. This paper puts these gaps in an international context, explores their interlinkages with fiscal policies, and identifies policy priorities. Source SSRN

October 4, 2024
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March 2024
07Mar

Turkish pensioners have become the poorest in Europe

Pensioners in Turkey rank last in the world in terms of income. In terms of quality of life, only India is ahead of them, writes the Turkish publication Sözcü. As the publication notes, since 2018, Turkey has been steadily declining in the world ranking, the so-called "League of pensioners". The League rating covers 44 countries. Moreover, the average pension in Turkey is called such that it is practically impossible to live on, that is, Turkish pensioners lag behind many other...

March 7, 2024
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February 2023
15Feb

75-year-old Iraqi woman donates her pension for Turkey quake victims

In a noble gesture, an elderly Iraqi woman has donated her pension to the earthquake victims in Turkey. The 75-year-old Khorshid Hussein Mohammed lives in Barda Qaraman on the outskirts of Sulaymaniyah, set aside her differences and illness, and made the decision. Khorshid told the media that she was born in 1948 in the village of Bargurdi, Mawat. She said she had to leave her village in 1989 due to oppression by the Baath regime and recalled her time she lived in...

February 15, 2023
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December 2022
30Dec

Turkey’s president abolishes the retirement age by decree

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced the end of the retirement age requirement, which gives over 2 million Turks the possibility of immediately choosing to exercise the right to a pension, according to what was communicated in a press conference yesterday evening. Currently, the retirement age is 58 for women and 60 for men. «With the regulation that we agree with today, about 2.25 million more people will be entitled to retire. No age limit to be entitled to...

December 30, 2022
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