Türkiye’s long-running debate over potential new provinces gains new momentum as Istanbul’s districts Tuzla and Silivri enter the latest assessment, based on a new analysis carried out by a Turkish data-mapping and regional planning initiative.
Experts state that Türkiye’s rapidly increasing population and expanding urbanization are placing an unsustainable burden on existing provinces, necessitating the creation of new administrative structures.
Key criteria include industrialization, port trade, tourism and strategic location.
Under a project dubbed “Informative Maps,” researchers review population growth, economic output, industrial activity, transport networks and locations to reassess which districts show the strongest potential to function independently as provinces.
Alongside Istanbul’s entrants, the broader list includes long-discussed candidates such as Kocaeli’s Gebze, Hatay’s İskenderun and Mardin’s Midyat.
To become a province, a district must have a population over 100,000 and be located at least 30 kilometers from the existing city center.
