Family size continues to shrink in Türkiye, data shows

ANKARA

Türkiye’s average household size fell to 3.08 people last year, down from four people in 2008, continuing a long-term downward trend as the government intensified efforts aimed at strengthening family structures, according to the country’s official statistics body.

Single-person households saw a sharp increase as their share climbed from 13.9 percent in 2014 to 20.5 percent last year, meaning roughly one in five households now consists of a single resident, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) said on May 12.

The figures come as the government has recently designated “National Family Week,” which will now be marked annually during the last week of May under a broader state-backed family policy initiative.

Authorities previously declared 2025 the “Year of the Family” and announced that the 2026-2035 period would be observed as the “Family and Population Decade,” citing concerns over demographic change, falling household sizes and population trends.

According to latest TÜİK data, the proportion of traditional nuclear families declined.

Households made up of couples with children or single parents with children fell from 67.4 percent in 2014 to 62.7 percent in 2025. Extended families also decreased compared with a decade earlier.

Single-parent households increased significantly, reaching 11.3 percent of all households, with the vast majority being led by mothers.

The data further highlighted regional differences in family structures.

The Black Sea province of Gümüşhane recorded the highest share of single-person households, while the southeastern city of Batman had the lowest.

TÜİK also reported that 41.9 percent of households included at least one child aged 0-17. The southeastern city of Şanlıurfa had the highest proportion of households with children, while the eastern city of Tunceli had the lowest.

An aging population also emerged as a key trend.

More than one-quarter of households included at least one person aged 65 or older, while the number of elderly people living alone rose to more than 1.8 million.

Among elderly people living alone, women accounted for nearly three-quarters of single-person elderly households.

The report showed that many young adults continue to live with their parents.

Among never-married people aged 25-29, 70 percent were living with at least one parent.

In findings related to living standards, the institute said 20.6 percent of the population lived below the poverty threshold in 2025. Poverty rates were highest among extended families.

Home ownership remained relatively widespread, with 57.1 percent of residents living in homes they owned, while 27 percent were tenants.