Türkiye’s population reached around 86.1 million last year, according to official data, highlighting a country that is still growing in size but facing deepening demographic challenges driven by falling birth rates, delayed marriages and rapid aging.
This figure marked an increase of roughly 427,000 people from the previous year, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) said on Feb. 9.
Reflecting a slight rebound in growth dynamics, the annual population growth rate edged up to 5 per thousand, a notable increase from the 3.4 per thousand recorded in 2024.
Istanbul, Türkiye’s largest city and economic hub, remained the country’s demographic heavyweight, with its population rising by more than 52,000 to reach 15.75 million.
Nearly one in five people in Türkiye now lives in Istanbul.
Across the country, an average of 112 people live per square kilometer, while Istanbul recorded an exceptionally high density of 2,943 people per square kilometer.
A major milestone was recorded at the district level: Esenyurt, a district of Istanbul, became the first district in Türkiye to surpass one million residents.
Rounding out the country's demographic core, Ankara remained the second most populous province with 5.91 million people. At the other end of the spectrum, the northeastern city of Bayburt was Türkiye’s least populous province with just 82,836 residents.
While 40 provinces out of the country’s 81 provinces recorded population declines in 2024, this number fell to 33 provinces last year, indicating that population losses slightly eased across parts of the country.
However, behind the headline population growth, Türkiye is still grappling with a sharp demographic shift.
According to previous data, the country’s fertility rate fell to 1.48 in 2024, far below the replacement level of 2.1 needed to sustain population size in the long term.
This decline is closely linked to later marriages and delayed parenthood.
According to this year’s data, Türkiye’s median age climbed to 34.9 last year, up from 34.4 the previous year, signaling rapid aging.
Simultaneously, the share of children aged 0–14 fell to 20.4 percent, while the proportion of people aged 65 and over rose to 11.1 percent.
Alarmed by these trends, the government launched a broad set of measures under its “Year of the Family” initiative last year, aimed at encouraging childbirth and supporting families.
Within this scope, authorities rolled out a child allowance scheme, providing a one-time payment for the first child and monthly support of up to 5,000 liras ($114) for subsequent children.
While these incentives have been welcomed, experts emphasize the need for long-term structural reforms, including policies that make it easier to balance work and family life, support housing affordability and address job insecurity among young people.
In direct response to these multifaceted pressures, authorities are already preparing legislation to extend maternity leave from 16 to 24 weeks and double paternity leave from five to 10 days.
They also say a comprehensive policy framework on family, population and social structure is expected to be unveiled soon.
