Erdoğan to unveil new family policy amid population concerns

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is set to announce a national family policy directive on Feb. 17 aimed at strengthening both family structures and population growth, local media have reported.

The announcement comes as the nation grapples with one of its lowest fertility rates in decades and rising concerns about demographic decline.

In speeches leading up to the announcement, Erdoğan has repeatedly characterized population decline as a threat to Türkiye's future and called for families to have more children to sustain national strength and social stability. Media outlets cite the president’s planned “family circular” as part of a broader effort to bolster what he calls a “strong family, strong population” framework.

Erdoğan’s demographic agenda has taken shape over the past year. He declared 2025 the "year of the family," a campaign to elevate family issues on the national policy agenda with events, public messaging and incentives designed to support marriage and childbearing.

He later expanded the initiative by designating 2026–2035 as the “decade of the family and population,” signaling a long-term strategic focus on reversing population decline.

Türkiye's fertility rate has fallen sharply in recent decades — dropping well below the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman and reaching an estimated 1.48 in 2024 — data cited by government and independent sources show. Erdoğan has described such figures as alarming, calling current trends a “disaster” for the country’s social and economic future.

United Nations projections suggest a potentially more drastic decline, with some scenarios indicating Türkiye’s population could fall from its current 85 million to just 25 million by the end of the century. TÜİK’s own low-growth projections estimate a drop to 54 million.

Authorities cite the rising age of marriage and parenthood as primary drivers of the decline. Since 2001, the average age of first-time mothers has climbed from 25.8 to 29.3, while the average age for fathers has risen to 28.

The Feb. 17 directive is expected to formalize new policy measures and legal frameworks aimed at strengthening family foundations and addressing Türkiye's demographic challenges, according to daily Milliyet.

Public policy measures already introduced under the family initiative include expanded birth support payments and financial incentives for young couples, along with interest-free marriage loans and housing support to ease barriers to family formation.

The loans feature a two-year grace period and a four-year repayment plan. Additionally, a new population policies board has been established to study the shrinking youth base and the challenges of an aging society.