Erdoğan warns over falling birth rate, unveils family vision

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has warned that Türkiye’s falling fertility rate and ageing population require early action, as he unveiled the country’s 2026-2035 Family and Population 10-Year Vision.

Speaking at the launch program at the Haliç Congress Center in Istanbul, Erdoğan said rising marriage age and increasing divorce rates were among the factors pushing fertility lower.

“Our marriage age is rising, divorce rates are increasing, and as a result, our fertility rate is falling. The figures are worrying for all of us,” Erdoğan said.

He said Türkiye’s fertility rate had fallen below the population replacement level of 2.1 from 2017 and declined to 1.48 in 2024, adding that authorities estimated a further fall in 2025.

TÜİK data show that Türkiye’s total fertility rate stood at 1.48 in 2024, while the number of live births was 937,559. The rate has remained below the replacement level of 2.10 for the past eight years, according to the statistics authority.

Erdoğan said the number of babies born annually had fallen from 1.35 million in 2014 to below 1 million in 2023.

He also pointed to Türkiye’s ageing population, saying one in two citizens was now around the age of 35 and that the share of elderly people had risen to 11.1 percent in 2025.

“We have a picture before us that requires us to be concerned about our future as a nation and to act for a solution,” he said.

Erdoğan said Türkiye was still younger than the European Union, with its median age nearly 10 years below the European average, but added that steps were needed now to reduce future risks.

The president said 2026-2035 had been designated as the Family and Population 10-Year period, following the 2025 Family Year.

The vision document sets out five priorities: protecting the family institution and generations, encouraging marriage, increasing the fertility rate, improving the development of young people and elderly welfare, and supporting rural development and a balanced population distribution.

Erdoğan also announced that the final week of May will be marked as “National Family Week” to raise public awareness.

The Family and Social Services Ministry said earlier that the vision document was prepared with contributions from relevant public institutions and would offer a long-term policy framework for Türkiye’s family and population policies.

Erdoğan said the government had taken several steps under its family-centered policies, including expanding the Family and Youth Fund across Türkiye and increasing support for young couples planning to marry.

He said loan support for young couples had been raised from 150,000 Turkish Liras to between 200,000 and 250,000 liras, with a two-year grace period and a 48-month repayment term.

He also pointed to higher birth support payments as of Jan. 1, 2025, the introduction of part-time work regulations in July 2025, priority access to social housing for families with three or more children and the recent extension of maternity leave.

A new regulation extending maternity leave for working mothers to 24 weeks has entered into force, while foster families have also been granted 10 days of leave, according to the new rules.

Erdoğan said the government would continue working to strengthen the family structure and address demographic risks over the next decade.

“Family is the safest shelter and the first school of a person,” he said. “When the family is strong, individuals are strong, and therefore society is strong.”