Turkey population pyramid 2026
87,926,082 people in 2026 (projected). Turkey’s pyramid has become a broad column from age 10 to 49, while its newest band, ages 0–4, is now narrower than every band from 5 to 54.
- 2026 population
- 87.9Mrank 18 of 237
- Median age
- 33.9 yearsoldest rank 113
- Fertility rate
- 1.62births per woman · below replacement
- Structure
- Transitional10.9% age 65+
Turkey population pyramid
2026 · Share of total by five-year age group and sex
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The UN series provides historical estimates through 2023. Figures from 2024 onward—including 2026—are medium-scenario projections, not counts or predictions guaranteed to occur.
Turkey age distribution in 2026
Children under 15 account for 20.6% of the population, while 10.9% are aged 65 or older. The remaining 68.5% are in the conventional working-age range of 15–64. On these shares, the site classifies Turkey’s age structure as transitional; the guide to population pyramid types explains what that shape implies.
The total age dependency ratio is 45.9: about 46 people under 15 or 65+ for every 100 people aged 15–64 (30.0 children and 15.9 older people). This is an age-balance indicator, not a literal count of economic dependants per worker.
What shapes Turkey’s population pyramid
A column built by steady births
In 1950 Turkey had a textbook expansive pyramid, with women averaging more than six children. Over the following half-century fertility fell to about 2.5 by 2000 and below replacement in the 2010s. Yet the 2026 pyramid shows no sharp narrowing through most of adult life: every five-year band from 10–14 to 45–49 holds roughly 3.5–4.0% of the population per sex. That near-vertical column, covering people born from the late 1970s to the mid-2010s, is the signature of population momentum. Each woman had fewer children, but the number of women of childbearing age kept rising, so the annual number of births stayed broadly level for more than three decades.
Above the column the pyramid steps in at 50–54, the cohorts born in 1972–76, and continues to taper through the older ages. Women outnumber men at the oldest ages, but the gap stays small below age 75.
The narrowing base after 2020
The clearest change is at the bottom. The 0–4 band, children born in 2022–26, is about one-sixth narrower than the 5–9 band and is now smaller than every band between ages 5 and 54. TurkStat has reported fertility falling to record lows in recent years, and the UN medium scenario holds it near 1.6 children per woman. This is the point at which a column begins turning into a constrictive pyramid.
Migration also shaped the 2010s. For much of the past decade Turkey hosted the largest refugee population in the world, mostly Syrians who arrived after 2011, which added people across the young and working ages; the pyramid alone cannot separate them from the native-born population. The Turkey and Iran comparison is instructive here, because Iran reached low fertility by a much more abrupt route, and the 1950 Turkey pyramid shows how far the shape has traveled.
Under the UN medium scenario Turkey’s population edges up to about 91 million around 2050 and then starts to decline, with the median age rising to about 44.
What to notice across the years
Distinctive cohorts and turning points
No five-year band under age 80 is more than 10% larger or smaller than both of its neighbours, so Turkey’s 2026 pyramid has a comparatively smooth profile without sharp bulges or notches.
Births outnumber deaths in 2026; the medium scenario projects deaths to exceed births from 2049. People aged 65 and older are projected to outnumber children under 15 by 2040.
Births, deaths, and migration
A pyramid changes in only three ways: births add to the base, deaths remove people at every age, and migration adds or removes people mainly in young adulthood. In 2026, Turkey is projected to record 1,045,681 births (about one birth every 30 seconds) and 565,453 deaths, a natural increase of 480,228. Net migration adds −217,896 people, ranking #192 in the net migration rate ranking.
Between 2000 and 2023 the UN estimates 30,963,030 births, 10,906,843 deaths, and cumulative net migration of +2,301,800. Over that period the balance of births and deaths moved the total more than migration did. See how migration shapes a pyramid and birth rate versus fertility rate. The medium scenario assumes net migration of −2,580,669 between 2026 and 2050.
Annual values 1950–2100; dashed lines after 2023 are the UN medium projection. The trend table below lists the values by decade.
Life expectancy and mortality
- Life expectancy, women
- 81.3 years50.4 in 1950
- Life expectancy, men
- 75.5 years44.2 in 1950
- Further years at 65
- 17.6 yearsboth sexes
- Infant mortality
- 8.0per 1,000 births · 193 in 1950
- Under-five mortality
- 9.5per 1,000 births
- Mother’s mean age at birth
- 29.5 yearssex ratio at birth 104.9
Women in Turkey are projected to live 5.8 years longer than men, which is why the female side of the pyramid widens relative to the other at older ages (see the life expectancy gap ranking). Infant mortality has fallen from 193 to 8.0 deaths per 1,000 live births since 1950, ranking #138 of 237 in the infant mortality ranking (highest first). A mean age at childbearing of 29.5 years sets the spacing between generations, and so how far apart echo cohorts sit in the pyramid.
Median age, fertility rate, and global ranks for Turkey
The median age of 33.9 years splits the population into two equal halves. A total fertility rate of 1.62 births per woman is below the replacement level of roughly 2.1, and life expectancy at birth is 78.4 years.
These ranks compare all 237 countries and areas in this dataset using the same 2026 UN medium projection. Ranks use the stored source precision, so displayed rounding can make adjacent values look identical; small differences should not be overinterpreted.
| Indicator | 2026 value | Global rank | Ranking direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 87,926,082 | #18 | Largest first |
| Median age | 33.9 years | #113 | Oldest first |
| Fertility rate | 1.62 | #147 | Highest first |
| Annual growth | +0.3% | #158 | Fastest first |
| Life expectancy | 78.4 years | #78 | Highest first |
| Population aged 65+ | 10.9% | #110 | Highest share first |
Largest age groups in Turkey
The five largest cohorts identify where the 2026 population is concentrated. They can reflect past birth patterns, survival, and migration; the chart alone does not establish which cause dominates.
| Rank | Age group | Population | Share of total | Male / female |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25–29 | 6,867,691 | 7.8% | 3.5M / 3.4M |
| 2 | 10–14 | 6,724,545 | 7.6% | 3.4M / 3.3M |
| 3 | 30–34 | 6,642,558 | 7.6% | 3.4M / 3.2M |
| 4 | 45–49 | 6,584,049 | 7.5% | 3.3M / 3.3M |
| 5 | 40–44 | 6,508,621 | 7.4% | 3.3M / 3.2M |
Sex ratio and the balance by age
In the 2026 projection, Turkey has 43,850,094 males and 44,075,988 females. That is 99.5 males per 100 females, ranking #83 when the dataset is ordered from the highest male-to-female ratio to the lowest.
Males account for 49.9% of the population and females for 50.1%. There are 225,894 more females than males overall. Among people aged 65 and older, the ratio is 78.7 males per 100 females.
The overall balance can conceal large differences by age; how sex ratios change with age explains the usual pattern. The ratio reflects the male/female categories in the UN source and is not a measure of gender identity. Compare all profiles in the sex-ratio ranking.
At birth, 104.9 boys are projected to be born for every 100 girls in 2026, close to the biological norm of about 105 (compare the sex ratio at birth ranking). The ratio at birth sets the balance at the base of the pyramid; how it changes with age then depends on survival and migration.
How Turkey has changed since 1950
The population has increased from 21,021,140 in 1950 to 87,926,082 in 2026, a change of 318%. Over the same span, median age moved from 18.6 to 33.9 years.
The under-15 share changed from 40.6% to 20.6%, while the share aged 65 and older changed from 3.8% to 10.9%. These shifts show why total population growth and age-structure change need to be read separately. See the Turkey population pyramid in 1950 for the full starting shape.
How the population could change by 2050
Under the UN medium scenario, Turkey’s population is projected to grow by about 4%, reaching 91,258,061 in 2050. The median age changes from 33.9 to 44.3 years.
The 65+ share is projected to rise by 11.2 percentage points to 22.1%. At the same time, the under-15 share is projected at 14.9%. The Turkey population pyramid for 2050 shows the projected shape in detail. How UN projections work explains the assumptions behind these figures.
The annual UN series reaches its highest projected population of 91,427,267 in 2047. That turning point depends on the medium scenario and may move in later revisions. Compare timing across countries in the population peak ranking.
Population trend: 1950–2100
Mid-year population for every year. Estimates through 2023; dashed line shows the UN medium projection.
| Year | Population | Median age | Fertility | Life exp. | Births | Deaths | Net migration | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 21,021,140 | 18.6 | 6.47 | 47.3 | 982,482 | 422,486 | +51,619 | +2.9% |
| 1960 | 28,329,898 | 18.4 | 6.38 | 50.8 | 1,275,394 | 502,377 | +14,948 | +2.8% |
| 1970 | 36,638,465 | 17.5 | 5.78 | 56.7 | 1,486,223 | 494,291 | −150,924 | +2.3% |
| 1980 | 45,408,815 | 18.8 | 4.45 | 62.7 | 1,528,957 | 438,442 | −151,969 | +2.1% |
| 1990 | 56,015,628 | 20.8 | 3.11 | 67.8 | 1,425,757 | 381,297 | −27,193 | +1.8% |
| 2000 | 65,425,961 | 24.0 | 2.49 | 71.9 | 1,401,449 | 380,909 | −195,996 | +1.3% |
| 2010 | 73,346,769 | 28.1 | 2.08 | 75.0 | 1,261,173 | 437,697 | +55,532 | +1.2% |
| 2020 | 86,091,692 | 31.2 | 1.77 | 76.5 | 1,194,951 | 566,484 | +37,934 | +0.8% |
| 2023 | 87,270,502 | 32.5 | 1.63 | 77.2 | 1,072,014 | 551,598 | −318,070 | +0.2% |
| 2024* | 87,473,805 | 33.0 | 1.62 | 77.4 | 1,060,605 | 580,397 | −275,952 | +0.2% |
| 2026* | 87,926,082 | 33.9 | 1.62 | 78.4 | 1,045,681 | 565,453 | −217,896 | +0.3% |
| 2030* | 89,027,542 | 35.8 | 1.61 | 79.1 | 1,008,818 | 603,653 | −129,583 | +0.3% |
| 2040* | 91,009,681 | 40.5 | 1.61 | 80.9 | 941,351 | 738,839 | −84,628 | +0.1% |
| 2050* | 91,258,061 | 44.3 | 1.62 | 82.5 | 847,505 | 879,918 | −74,065 | -0.1% |
| 2060* | 88,863,276 | 47.6 | 1.61 | 83.9 | 701,776 | 1,015,034 | −50,529 | -0.4% |
| 2070* | 84,358,564 | 50.9 | 1.61 | 85.2 | 649,808 | 1,125,242 | −51,644 | -0.6% |
| 2080* | 78,555,666 | 52.5 | 1.62 | 86.4 | 584,710 | 1,160,542 | −49,140 | -0.8% |
| 2090* | 72,021,272 | 53.5 | 1.62 | 87.5 | 495,055 | 1,139,256 | −39,268 | -0.9% |
| 2100* | 65,338,458 | 54.6 | 1.61 | 88.6 | 444,393 | 1,072,141 | −29,204 | -1.0% |
* 2024 onward is the UN medium projection. Fertility is births per woman; life expectancy is years at birth; births, deaths, and net migration are counts for that calendar year.
Download every year, 1950–2100 (CSV)
2026 population by age and sex
The table provides the counts behind the chart. Age groups are five-year bands, with everyone aged 100 or older combined.
| Age group | Male | Female | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0–4 | 2,677,176 | 2,551,683 | 5,228,859 | 5.9% |
| 5–9 | 3,127,058 | 3,010,481 | 6,137,539 | 7.0% |
| 10–14 | 3,421,144 | 3,303,401 | 6,724,545 | 7.6% |
| 15–19 | 3,251,383 | 3,128,345 | 6,379,728 | 7.3% |
| 20–24 | 3,098,442 | 2,962,505 | 6,060,947 | 6.9% |
| 25–29 | 3,509,269 | 3,358,422 | 6,867,691 | 7.8% |
| 30–34 | 3,393,186 | 3,249,372 | 6,642,558 | 7.6% |
| 35–39 | 3,286,910 | 3,197,610 | 6,484,520 | 7.4% |
| 40–44 | 3,283,910 | 3,224,711 | 6,508,621 | 7.4% |
| 45–49 | 3,297,610 | 3,286,439 | 6,584,049 | 7.5% |
| 50–54 | 2,759,044 | 2,781,669 | 5,540,713 | 6.3% |
| 55–59 | 2,339,931 | 2,351,842 | 4,691,773 | 5.3% |
| 60–64 | 2,182,648 | 2,304,763 | 4,487,411 | 5.1% |
| 65–69 | 1,589,030 | 1,741,645 | 3,330,675 | 3.8% |
| 70–74 | 1,282,211 | 1,513,313 | 2,795,524 | 3.2% |
| 75–79 | 756,491 | 1,011,417 | 1,767,908 | 2.0% |
| 80–84 | 384,211 | 608,369 | 992,580 | 1.1% |
| 85–89 | 154,665 | 325,225 | 479,890 | 0.5% |
| 90–94 | 48,578 | 128,733 | 177,311 | 0.2% |
| 95–99 | 6,805 | 32,149 | 38,954 | 0.0% |
| 100+ | 390 | 3,894 | 4,284 | 0.0% |
Countries with the most similar age structure
These profiles have the 2026 age distributions closest to Turkey’s, measured by the total difference in the share of the population in each five-year band. Similar shapes can arise from very different histories, so the match is a starting point for comparison, not an explanation.
- Brazil98% overlap · median age 35.2
- Tunisia97% overlap · median age 33.4
- Kosovo97% overlap · median age 33.2
- Argentina96% overlap · median age 33.3
- Colombia96% overlap · median age 33.0
- New Caledonia96% overlap · median age 34.8
Compare Turkey with other countries
Side-by-side pages put two pyramids on the same percentage scale, with a full indicator table and the projected change to 2050.
To calculate school-age, working-age, or older groups with other boundaries, use the age-group calculator for Turkey.
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Charts and tables may be reused with attribution. Please link to this page and credit the United Nations as the data source.
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APA
World Population Pyramid. (2026, October 19). Turkey Population Pyramid 2026. https://worldpopulationpyramid.com/countries/turkey/
MLA
“Turkey Population Pyramid 2026.” World Population Pyramid, 19 Oct. 2026, worldpopulationpyramid.com/countries/turkey/.
Chicago
World Population Pyramid. “Turkey Population Pyramid 2026.” Last modified October 19, 2026. https://worldpopulationpyramid.com/countries/turkey/.
Underlying data: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024.
Frequently asked questions
What is the population of Turkey in 2026?
Under the UN World Population Prospects 2024 medium scenario, Turkey's population in 2026 is projected at 87,926,082.
What is the median age in Turkey?
The projected median age in Turkey in 2026 is 33.9 years: half the population is younger and half is older.
What is the fertility rate in Turkey?
The projected total fertility rate in 2026 is 1.62 births per woman, below the replacement level of about 2.1 in low-mortality populations.
Is Turkey's population projected to grow?
Between 2026 and 2050, the UN medium scenario indicates the population will grow by about 4%, from 87.9M to 91.3M.
What share of Turkey is aged 65 or older?
In 2026, 10.9% of the projected population is aged 65 or older. By 2050, the medium scenario places the share at 22.1%.
How many babies are born in Turkey each year?
The UN medium scenario projects 1,045,681 births and 565,453 deaths in 2026, about one birth every 30 seconds. Births exceed deaths by 480,228.
What is life expectancy in Turkey for men and women?
Life expectancy at birth in 2026 is projected at 81.3 years for women and 75.5 years for men, a gap of 5.8 years in favour of women.
Does Turkey have more immigrants or emigrants?
Turkey is projected to lose about 217,896 more people through emigration than it gains in 2026. Between 2000 and 2023 the UN estimates cumulative net migration of +2,301,800.
What is the sex ratio in Turkey?
The projected 2026 population sex ratio is 99.5 males per 100 females. This all-age ratio is different from the sex ratio at birth and can vary substantially by age.
Sources and notes
- United Nations, DESA, Population Division: World Population Prospects 2024, medium scenario.
- Population values are mid-year figures. Source values published in thousands are converted to people; displayed figures may imply more precision than is appropriate for planning.
- Historical values through 2023 are estimates. Values from 2024 onward are projections.
- Calculations follow the site methodology.