Turkey is facing a deepening demographic crisis, characterized by a falling birth rate, a rapidly aging population and a growing number of childless households, according to official data announced by Turkish Minister of Family and Social Welfare Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş, the “Türkiye Today“ website reported, quoted by BTA.
Speaking during a meeting with Turkish media representatives in Istanbul yesterday, Göktaş announced that Turkey's total fertility rate has fallen to 1.48 - significantly below the population maintenance level of 2.1 - which, she said, poses serious long-term risks to the country's social and economic structure.
Göktash also said that over the past decade, the number of Turkish districts with a birth rate above the replacement threshold has fallen sharply from 29 to just ten, while districts with a birth rate of 1.5 or lower have increased from just one (Edirne district) in 2014 to 55 in 2024.
Furthermore, data shows that 59 of Turkey's 81 provinces are now classified as "very old," based on the proportion of their elderly population. The number of districts in this category has tripled since 2007, when only 19 of them fell into it, notes Türkiye Tudey. Göktaş also noted that currently 57.2 percent of households in Turkey do not have children.
In response to the demographic crisis, Göktaş announced that the Turkish authorities are preparing a comprehensive, long-term policy framework targeting family structure, demographic dynamics and social support, and said the program is expected to be presented in detail in February.