Children account for 25.5 pct of Turkish population, TÜİK says

ANKARA

Children accounted for 25.5 percent of the country's total population in 2024, with the most popular baby names being "Alparslan" for boys and "Defne" for girls, according to the latest figures from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK).

By the end of 2024, Türkiye's population stood at 85.6 million, with more than 21.8 million of them aged between 0-17, the age group classified as children by the United Nations, TÜİK announced on April 18.

Boys made up 51.3 percent of this group, while girls accounted for 48.7 percent.

While children once made up nearly half the country’s population in the 1970s, their share has gradually declined over the decades, falling to 41.8 percent in 1990 and to just over a quarter in 2024.

Projections suggest this trend will continue. Under the main demographic scenario, the child population is expected to fall to 22.1 percent by 2030, 17.9 percent by 2040 and just 14.5 percent by the year 2100.

A lower fertility scenario puts the 2100 figure at 9.9 percent, while a higher fertility projection suggests it could remain as high as 18.6 percent.

Despite the downward trend, Türkiye’s child population share remains well above the European Union average of 17.8 percent.

Among Turkish provinces, the southeastern city of Şanlıurfa had the highest proportion of children, at 43.8 percent, followed by another southeastern province of Şırnak with 39.8 percent.

The eastern province of Tunceli, on the other hand, had the lowest share, with children making up only 16.4 percent of its population.