Çorum's Ageing Population: What a Median Age of 41 Tells Families

Çorum's ageing population is well above the Turkish average. Using TÜİK data, explore what an older city means for family life, caregiving and mental health.

You can sense a city's age from its streets, its market stalls or the number of chairs around a holiday table; but figures make that intuition clearer. According to the 2025 Address-Based Population Registration System data of TÜİK (the Turkish Statistical Institute), the median age in Çorum is 41.3. In other words, half of the province's population is over 41. In Turkey as a whole, the figure is 34.9. The share of Çorum's ageing population tells a similar story: roughly 18 in every 100 people are aged 65 or over, compared with about 11 in Turkey. In this article I look, through the eyes of a clinical psychologist, at what these figures tell us, which structural factors might explain them and, above all, what they mean for families, adult children and older people themselves. My aim is not to label a city as "old", but to understand a changing family order and to talk about ways of being prepared for that change.

Çorum's Ageing Population: What Do the Figures Say?

According to local sources reporting the 2025 data of the TÜİK Samsun Regional Directorate, Çorum's population is 519,590. Of these, 92,844 are aged 65 or over, which is roughly 17.9 per cent of the population. In Turkey the same share is 11.1 per cent. Çorum ranks eighth among Turkey's 81 provinces for the proportion of older people.

Several other indicators complete the picture:

• Median age: The median age, which was 34.1 in 2012, rose to 41.3 in 2025. In other words, the population aged by around seven years in thirteen years. Turkey's median age today is close to Çorum's value in 2012.
• Child population: According to sources compiling TÜİK data, the 0–14 age group makes up 16.6 per cent of the population, compared with 20.4 per cent in Turkey. In 2025 alone, the child population fell by 2,701.
• Old-age dependency ratio: For every 100 people of working age (15–64), there are 27.3 older people. In Turkey the figure is around 16.
• Child dependency ratio: For every 100 people of working age there are 25.3 children; in Turkey, 29.7.

Putting the last two points side by side matters. In Çorum, the number of older people per 100 working-age adults has now overtaken the number of children. Across Turkey, the opposite is still true. According to the 2015 social analysis report of the Central Black Sea Development Agency (OKA), this ratio was about 9 in Çorum in 1990. It is fair to say it has tripled in thirty-five years.

The overall population trend is consistent with this picture. According to the TÜİK series, Çorum's population was 549,828 in 2007 and fell to 519,590 in 2025, a decrease of around 30,000 people. Turkey kept growing over the same period. The total fertility rate, according to sources reporting TÜİK data, is 1.22, compared with 1.42 in Turkey.

What should you keep in mind when reading these figures?

Every statistic has its limits, and knowing them stops us from exaggerating what the data tell us:

• A considerable share of the figures comes not directly from TÜİK's provincial tables but from local news reports and compilation websites that relay them. While the direction and scale are consistent, there may be small discrepancies.
• "Aged 65 and over" is a broad group. A 66-year-old retiree tending a garden and an 88-year-old bedbound grandmother are counted in the same column. The share of older people is not a direct measure of care needs.
• The dependency ratio is an economic concept; it does not say that older people are actually "dependent". Many older people look after grandchildren, support their families financially and keep social ties alive in their neighbourhoods.
• According to TÜİK's population projection (as reported in the news), Çorum's population is expected to fall to around 494,000 by 2030. Projections should be read with caution; in the past some forecasts have deviated noticeably from actual values.

What Factors Might Lie Behind Çorum's Ageing Population?

The ageing of a city cannot be attributed to a single cause. Still, looking at the data, a few possible factors stand out. They are best understood not as definite causes but as trends that reinforce one another.

Young people moving out of the province. According to TÜİK's Internal Migration Statistics, in 2025 Çorum received 15,597 migrants and lost 17,208. OKA's earlier analysis shows that migration is most concentrated in the 20–24 age group. When some young people leave for big cities, above all Ankara, for education or work, the average age of those who remain naturally rises.

Falling fertility. According to the OKA report, the total fertility rate was 1.97 in 2014; today it stands at 1.22. Fewer births narrow the base of the population pyramid.

Longer life expectancy. This is a development seen across Turkey and, in fact, a welcome one. People are living longer; but it also means that more years are spent in advanced old age.

Rural structure. In Çorum, one in every four people lives in a village or small town; in Turkey the figure is one in sixteen. In rural settlements, it is a more common pattern for young people to move to the provincial centre or out of the province while older people stay on their land.

Shrinking households. The average household size is 2.71 in Çorum and 3.08 in Turkey. Single-person households make up 23.8 per cent of all households, and in almost half of these (46.8 per cent) someone aged 65 or over lives alone. In Turkey the figure is around one third.

A changing family structure. According to sources compiling TÜİK data, 61.6 per cent of households in Çorum are nuclear families and only 12.5 per cent are extended families. Three generations who once lived under the same roof now mostly live in separate homes, and often in separate cities. This increases both the independence of older people and the likelihood of them being left alone.

None of these factors has to be seen as a "problem". Decisions about migration, education and having children are reasonable choices that individuals make for their own lives. But taken together, these decisions reshape roles and expectations within the family.

What Does an Ageing City Tell Families?

Figures may look abstract, but their consequences are lived inside homes and in everyday life. From a psychological point of view, several themes stand out.

The direction of care is shifting

A generation ago, most of a family's energy went into raising children. Today, for many families, ageing parents are at the centre of the agenda. Adults in their forties and fifties are dealing with their own children's education costs while also thinking about their parents' doctor's appointments, their medication and making sure they are not left alone. I discussed this double load in detail in my article on the sandwich generation.

Expectations between generations can clash

A large part of the older generation grew up with the belief that "children look after their parents". Adult children, meanwhile, may be living in another city, working long hours and living in smaller homes. This gap between expectation and reality can turn into hurt on both sides: the older parent may feel like a burden or forgotten, while the adult child may feel guilty for not being able to do enough.

Facing ageing itself

In a city where the median age is 41, old age is not only a matter for parents. Many people in their fifties, watching their parents grow old, begin to think about their own future too: "Who will be by my side when I am old?" This question can be particularly worrying for those whose children live outside the province.

The value and visibility of being older

A large older population can also mean that older people are more visible in society. This is an opportunity. A family and neighbourhood culture that values older people's experience, stories and contributions can turn ageing from a period of loss into a meaningful stage of life. Conversely, language that sees old age only as a burden damages older people's sense of self-worth and can lead them to withdraw.

The risk of loneliness

The fact that the share of older people living alone is above the Turkish average is notable from the point of view of loneliness. Living alone does not always mean feeling lonely; neighbourly relations, visits from relatives and meeting places such as the mosque, the tea house or the market are powerful protective factors. However, as health problems increase and mobility shrinks, these ties can weaken. In later life, loneliness frequently goes hand in hand with depressive symptoms; I discussed this in detail in my article on depression in older age.

Practical Suggestions for Families and Individuals in an Ageing City

We cannot change demographic trends, but we can change how we prepare for them. The suggestions below apply both to older people and to adult children.

For adult children:

• Start the conversation before a crisis. Talking with your parent while they are well about their care preferences, where they would like to live in the future and what they would and would not accept is far less draining than decisions made in a hurry during a crisis.
• Be open about how tasks are shared with your siblings. If the sibling who lives nearby "naturally" takes on everything, it eventually turns into resentment. A sibling who lives further away can take on different roles, such as financial contributions, paperwork or regular video calls.
• Plan your own old age too. Investing today in your health, social relationships and interests reduces future anxiety.

For older people:

• Keep your routine. Habits that give the day structure, such as regular sleep, walks, prayer times or trips to the market, support your mood.
• Keep your social ties alive. Visits to neighbours, gatherings with people from your home town or other retirees, and regular phone calls with grandchildren are a strong shield against loneliness.
• Say what you need. Hiding difficulties because "I don't want to be a burden on anyone" makes problems bigger. Asking for help is not a weakness; it is a way of keeping the relationship alive.

Let's say two siblings living in Ankara discuss every year, at the last minute, how their mother, who lives alone in Çorum, will get through the winter. If they sat down once in October and wrote down who will take on what, from the stove and medication to grocery shopping and hospital appointments, it could greatly reduce the frantic phone calls and mutual reproaches of December. A plan does not solve everything, but it shrinks the tension that uncertainty creates.

For the neighbourhood and the local community:

• Noticing older neighbours who live alone and knocking on their doors during religious holidays and the winter months is a small but effective act of solidarity.
• Activities that bring generations together strengthen both older people's sense of being valued and younger people's sense of belonging.

When Should You Seek Professional Support?

Adapting to the changes that ageing brings takes time, and it is natural to struggle. However, you might consider seeking support from a mental health professional in the following situations:

• If your older relative shows loss of interest, constant withdrawal, marked changes in appetite and sleep, or says things such as "there is no point in living any more"
• If cognitive symptoms such as forgetfulness, disorientation or personality change have appeared (in this case a medical assessment is needed first)
• If, because of caring responsibilities, you are building up long-term exhaustion, angry outbursts, sleeplessness and guilt
• If the issue of care has turned into a chronic conflict between siblings or partners
• If anxiety about your own ageing or about being left alone is restricting your daily life

If an older relative, or you yourself, are having thoughts of self-harm, this is an emergency; call 112 (emergency services) without delay or go to the nearest emergency department.

How Are Ageing and Family Change Addressed in Therapy?

Difficulties related to ageing rarely affect just one person; they usually touch the whole family system. That is why both an individual and a family-focused perspective matter in therapy.

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) helps older people notice depressive and anxious thoughts, realistically re-evaluate automatic thoughts such as "I'm no use any more", and add meaningful activities to daily life. Behavioural activation, that is, planning small but regular activities that bring enjoyment and a sense of mastery, is an effective method in later life as well.

For adult children, the work usually focuses on guilt, setting boundaries and realistic expectations. From a schema therapy perspective, people with strong self-sacrifice or excessive responsibility schemas tend to be more prone to burnout during caregiving. Recognising these patterns makes it easier to approach both the parent and oneself with compassion.

Therapy can be carried out face to face or online; I also work in Çorum with both face-to-face and online sessions. In individual therapy, the aim is not to "solve" ageing but to live through this period with less strain and more meaning.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does the share of older people in Çorum compare with the Turkish average?

According to TÜİK's 2025 data, people aged 65 and over make up about 17.9 per cent of Çorum's population, compared with 11.1 per cent in Turkey. Çorum ranks eighth among the 81 provinces on this indicator. Its median age is also about six years higher than the Turkish average.

What does a high old-age dependency ratio mean?

This ratio shows how many older people there are for every 100 people of working age. In Çorum, at 27.3, it has overtaken the child dependency ratio. This points to a shift in the direction of care within families, from children towards ageing parents; but it does not mean that older people are actually dependent.

How can I manage my worries about an ageing parent?

One of the most effective ways to reduce anxiety is to reduce uncertainty: talking with your parent about their preferences, sharing tasks with your siblings and planning your own support. If the anxiety is noticeably affecting your sleep, work or relationships, speaking with a professional may help.

Do older people also benefit from psychotherapy?

Yes. The research literature shows that people in later life can also benefit from psychotherapy for issues such as depression, anxiety and grief. The pace and content of sessions can be adapted to the person's health and needs.

• #ageing population
• #median age
• #intergenerational relationships
• #family structure

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Eda Erkan Alapala

Klinik Psikolog. İstanbul Kent Üniversitesi Klinik Psikoloji Tezli Yüksek Lisans mezunu; bilişsel davranışçı terapi, çocuk merkezli oyun terapisi ve çocuk-ergen psikoterapisi alanlarında eğitimlerini tamamlamıştır.

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