[Ageing and the elderly in Turkey--results of the first age report from Turkey].

Although Turkey is generally considered a "young country," we already have the early signs of demographic ageing. By 2020, the percentage of the Turkish population above the age of 60 will be close to 20%. This article examines the important aspects of Turkish demographic structure and discusses the general life conditions of the elderly. All data are from a report published by the author about the life conditions of the elderly in Turkey. This report showed that, in Turkey, ageing is generally specific to female elderly. Poverty during elderly age should be considered the most serious problem both today and in the future, although this issue shows a great diversity in terms of occupational status, educational level and regions. Care for the elderly is not a major problem yet. However, Turkish society needs to prepare for future problems in elderly care by creating the necessary legal and political infrastructure. Education and research about social gerontology has not improved yet. There needs to be great improvement in this field to come to the general developmental level in Europe.