Demographics of Turkey explained

Place:	the Republic of Turkey
Size Of Population:	85,372,377 (31 December 2023)
Growth:	0.11% (2023)
Birth:	10.9 births/1,000 population (2023)
Death:	6.2 deaths/1,000 population (2023)
Life:	78.6 years (2020)
Life Male:	75.9 years (2020)
Life Female:	81.3 years (2020)
Fertility:	1.51 children born/woman (2023)^[1]
Infant Mortality:	9.1 deaths/1000 infants (2022)
Age 0–14 Years:	21.4% (2023)
Age 15–64 Years:	68.3% (2023)
Age 65 Years:	10.2% (2023)
Total Mf Ratio:	0.99 male(s)/female (2021)^[2]
Sr At Birth:	1.05 male(s)/female (2022)
Sr Under 15:	1.05 male(s)/female (2022)
Sr 15 67 Years:	1.03 male(s)/female
Sr 65 Years Over:	0.82 male(s)/female (2022)
Nation:	noun: Turk(s) adjective: Turkish
Official:	Turkish
Spoken:	See Languages of Turkey

Demographic features of the population of Turkey include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

the population of Turkey was 85.3 million with a growth rate of 0.11% per annum.^[3] Turks are the largest ethnic group.

By ethnicity Turks (70-75%), Kurds (19%), other (6-11% including Arabs, Albanians, Bosniaks, Circassians, Chechens, Georgians, Romani, Laz people and others) (2016 estimate)

The population has been aging in recent years, with just 21.4% falling in the 0–14 age bracket (down from 26.4% in 2007).^[4] The population over the age of 65 is 10.2% (up from 7.1% in 2007). the median age of the Turkish population is 34 years (up from 28.3 in 2007).^[5] According to OECD/World Bank population statistics, from 1990 to 2008 the population growth in Turkey was 16 million or 29%.^[6]

Population

Life expectancy

Life expectancy in Turkey according to the UN^[7] !Period!Life expectancy in
Years!Period!Life expectancy in
Years

1950–1955	41.01	1985–1990	63.04
1955–1960	43.69	1990–1995	65.49
1960–1965	47.22	1995–2000	68.49
1965–1970	50.78	2000–2005	71.37
1970–1975	53.75	2005–2010	73.37
1975–1980	57.05	2010–2015	74.83
1980–1985	60.22	2015–2020	77.31

According to the CIA World Factbook, in 2019, life expectancy was 78.3 years for the total population, 75.6 years for men and 81.0 years for women.^[8]

Urbanization

According to the CIA World Factbook:

• Urban population: 75.1% of total population (2018)
• Rate of urbanization: 2.04% annual rate of change (2015–20 est.)

Median age

According to the CIA World Factbook:

• Total population: 32.4 years
• Male: 31.7 years
• Female: 33.1 years (2019 est.)^[9]

Sex ratio

According to the CIA World Factbook:

• At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
• Under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
• 15–24 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
• 25–54 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
• 55–64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
• 65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female
• Total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

Literacy

According to the CIA World Factbook:Defined as people age 15 and over who can read and write, 2016 est.

• Total population: 96.2%
• Male: 98.8%
• Female: 93.6%

2022 official estimates:^[10]

• Total population: 97.6%
• Male: 99.3%
• Female: 95.9%

Vital statistics

UN estimates

The 2018 figures from the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs:^[11]

Period	Live births per year	Deaths per year	Natural change per year	CBR	CDR	NC	TFR	IMR
1950–1955	1,127,000	551,000	677,000	48.4	18.8	29.6	6.69	167.4
1955–1960	1,216,000	564,000	752,000	46.9	18.4	28.5	6.5	163.9
1960–1965	1,277,000	547,000	799,000	44.3	17.6	26.7	6.2	160.5
1965–1970	1,343,000	527,000	792,000	40.3	16.7	23.6	5.80	156.9
1970–1975	1,451,000	523,000	887,000	38.7	15.0	23.7	5.39	141.3
1975–1980	1,497,000	505,000	977,000	36.4	13.0	23.4	4.69	119.4
1980–1985	1,527,000	481,000	1,074,000	33.8	10.8	23.0	4.11	96.7
1985–1990	1,431,000	454,000	976,000	27.7	8.8	18.9	3.39	78.0
1990–1995	1,375,000	438,000	987,000	25.1	7.7	17.4	3.11	63.0
1995–2000	1,389,000	418,000	983,000	22.8	6.9	15.9	2.76	45.5
2000–2005	1,345,000	404,000	923,000	20.5	6.2	14.3	2.50	31.4
2005–2010	1,309,000	415,000	932,000	18.7	5.9	12.8	2.27	24.0
2010–2015	1,302,000	439,000	914,000	17.3	5.8	11.5	2.15	13.0
2015–2020	1,281,000	473,000	808,000	15.8	5.8	10.0	2.10
2020–2025	1,242,000	509,000	733,000	14.6	6.0	8.6	2.04
2025–2030	1,191,000	543,000	648,000	13.6	6.2	7.4	2.01

Registered births and deaths

Birth statistics of Turkey from 2001 onward are from the Central Population Administrative System (MERNIS) database which is available on-line.^[12] Birth statistics are updated continually because MERNIS has dynamic structure.^[13]

In 2010 Turkey had a crude birth rate of 17.2 per 1000, in 2011 16.7, down from 20.3 in 2001. The total fertility rate (TFR) in 2010 was 2.05 children per woman, in 2011 2.02. The crude birth rate in 2010 ranged from 11.5 per 1,000 in West Marmara (TFR 1.52) (11,5;1.55 in 2011), similar to neighbouring Bulgaria, to 27.9 per 1,000 in Southeast Anatolia (TFR 3.53) (27.1;3,42 in 2011), similar to neighbouring Syria. Similarly, in 2012, the TFR ranged from 1.43 in Kırklareli, to 4.39 in Şanlıurfa.^[14] Death statistics from MERNIS are available as of 2009. Mortality data prior to 2009 are incomplete.

	Population (31.12.)	Live births	Deaths	Natural change	Crude birth rate (per 1000)	Crude death (per 1000)	Natural increase (per 1000)	Crude migration (per 1000)	Total fertility rate (TFR)
1990		1,392,000	388,000	1,004,000					3.11
1991		1,390,000	391,000	999,000					3.02
1992		1,388,000	394,000	994,000					2.94
1993		1,385,000	396,000	989,000					2.87
1994		1,372,000	399,000	973,000					2.81
1995		1,368,000	402,000	966,000					2.76
1996		1,386,000	419,000	967,000					2.70
1997		1,317,000	424,000	893,000					2.66
1998		1,318,000	426,000	892,000					2.61
1999		1,313,000	427,000	886,000					2.56
2000		1,307,000	422,000	885,000					2.50
2001		1,323,341	175,137	1,148,204	20.3				2.38
2002		1,229,555	175,434	1,054,121	18.6				2.40
2003		1,198,927	184,330	1,014,597	17.9				2.35
2004		1,222,484	187,086	1,035,398	18.1				2.31
2005		1,244,041	197,520	1,046,521	18.2				2.27
2006		1,255,432	210,146	1,045,286	18.1				2.24
2007	70,586,256	1,289,992	212,731	1,077,261	18.3	3.0	15.3		2.21
2008	71,517,100	1,295,511	215,562	1,079,949	18.1	3.0	15.1	-2.1	2.19
2009	72,561,312	1,266,751	369,703	897,048	17.6	5.1	12.5	2.0	2.10
2010	73,722,988	1,261,169	366,471	894,698	17.2	5.0	12.2	3.6	2.08
2011	74,724,269	1,252,812	376,162	876,650	16.9	5.1	11.8	1.7	2.05
2012	75,627,384	1,294,605	376,520	918,085	17.2	5.0	12.2	-0.2	2.11
2013	76,667,864	1,297,505	373,041	924,464	17.0	4.9	12.1	1.5	2.11
2014	77,695,904	1,351,088	391,091	959,997	17.5	5.1	12.4	0.9	2.19
2015	78,741,053	1,336,908	405,528	931,380	17.1	5.2	11.9	1.4	2.16
2016	79,814,871	1,316,204	422,964	893,240	16.6	5.3	11.3	2.3	2.11
2017	80,810,525	1,300,258	426,662	873,596	16.2	5.3	10.9	1.5	2.08
2018	82,003,882	1,256,282	426,785	829,497	15.4	5.2	10.2	4.4	2.00
2019	83,154,997	1,189,939	436,624	753,315	14.4	5.3	9.1	4.8	1.89
2020	83,614,362	1,117,942	509,048	608,894	13.4	6.1	7.3	-1.8	1.77
2021	84,680,273	1,083,336	566,485	516,851	12.9	6.7	6.2	6.4	1.71
2022	85,279,553	1,035,795	504,839	530,956	12.2	5.9	6.3	0.7	1.62
2023	85,372,277	958,408	525,814	432,594	11.2	6.2	5.0	-3.9	1.51

Birth and death rate by region and year

Birth Rate by Region and Year

Region	Population (2022)	Birth Rate (TFR)/2022	Birth Rate (TFR)/2021	Birth Rate (TFR)/2020	Birth Rate (TFR)/2019	Birth Rate (TFR)/2018	Birth Rate (TFR)/2017	Birth Rate (TFR)/2016	Birth Rate (TFR)/2015	Birth Rate (TFR)/2014	Birth Rate (TFR)/2013	Birth Rate (TFR)/2012	Birth Rate (TFR)/2011	Birth Rate (TFR)/2010	Birth Rate (TFR)/2009
Turkey		12.2 (1.62)	12.9 (1.71)	13.4 (1.77)	14.4 (1.89)	15.4 (2.00)	16.2 (2.08)	16.6 (2.11)	17.1 (2.16)	17.5 (2.19)	17.0 (2.11)	17.2 (2.11)	16.9 (2.05)	17.2 (2.08)	17.6 (2.10)
		10.7 (1.29)	11.5 (1.39)	12.4 (1.48)	13.6 (1.60)	14.8 (1.73)	15.6 (1.80)	16.3 (1.86)	16.7 (1.88)	17.0 (1.89)	16.4 (1.81)	16.5 (1.80)	15.9 (1.72)	16.3 (1.77)	16.4 (1.77)
		9.4 (1.41)	9.6 (1.43)	10.1 (1.50)	10.6 (1.57)	11.5 (1.67)	11.8 (1.70)	11.9 (1.69)	12.0 (1.69)	12.1 (1.69)	11.9 (1.64)	11.9 (1.63)	11.6 (1.57)	11.5 (1.54)	11.7 (1.54)
		9.8 (1.41)	10.2 (1.45)	10.7 (1.50)	11.4 (1.58)	12.2 (1.68)	12.9 (1.75)	13.2 (1.76)	13.6 (1.80)	13.8 (1.80)	13.4 (1.73)	13.7 (1.74)	13.2 (1.66)	13.3 (1.66)	13.7 (1.69)
		11.0 (1.48)	11.7 (1.56)	12.2 (1.61)	13.2 (1.72)	14.2 (1.83)	14.6 (1.87)	15.0 (1.89)	15.2 (1.90)	15.3 (1.88)	14.8 (1.80)	15.0 (1.80)	14.5 (1.71)	14.8 (1.74)	15.2 (1.77)
		10.9 (1.42)	11.4 (1.48)	12.0 (1.55)	13.0 (1.66)	14.1 (1.78)	14.7 (1.84)	15.1 (1.87)	15.5 (1.90)	15.8 (1.91)	15.4 (1.85)	15.4 (1.83)	15.2 (1.79)	15.4 (1.80)	15.8 (1.83)
		12.2 (1.71)	12.8 (1.77)	13.3 (1.83)	14.3 (1.96)	15.4 (2.08)	16.3 (2.18)	17.0 (2.24)	17.5 (2.29)	18.0 (2.32)	17.6 (2.24)	17.8 (2.23)	17.3 (2.14)	17.8 (2.18)	18.3 (2.20)
		11.3 (1.56)	11.8 (1.62)	12.3 (1.68)	13.2 (1.79)	14.1 (1.89)	14.9 (1.99)	15.4 (2.05)	15.8 (2.09)	16.4 (2.14)	16.0 (2.06)	16.3 (2.07)	16.4 (2.06)	16.7 (2.08)	17.6 (2.16)
		9.0 (1.35)	9.4 (1.41)	9.8 (1.47)	10.6 (1.57)	11.2 (1.63)	11.6 (1.67)	11.9 (1.69)	12.2 (1.73)	12.7 (1.77)	12.8 (1.76)	13.0 (1.77)	13.0 (1.74)	13.6 (1.79)	14.2 (1.84)
		9.3 (1.39)	9.8 (1.45)	10.3 (1.52)	11.0 (1.61)	11.6 (1.69)	12.0 (1.73)	12.3 (1.77)	12.5 (1.78)	12.8 (1.81)	12.8 (1.77)	13.0 (1.78)	13.1 (1.77)	13.6 (1.81)	14.1 (1.86)
		15.0 (1.92)	16.5 (2.11)	17.1 (2.18)	18.4 (2.36)	19.1 (2.45)	20.6 (2.64)	21.2 (2.72)	21.7 (2.79)	22.7 (2.90)	22.4 (2.85)	22.8 (2.90)	22.9 (2.90)	23.4 (2.97)	23.1 (2.91)
		16.0 (2.01)	16.8 (2.12)	17.8 (2.23)	19.3 (2.43)	20.0 (2.52)	21.1 (2.65)	21.2 (2.67)	21.9 (2.75)	23.0 (2.87)	22.6 (2.83)	22.5 (2.82)	22.9 (2.85)	23.6 (2.95)	23.9 (3.00)
		21.3 (2.71)	22.7 (2.86)	22.5 (2.84)	23.8 (3.03)	25.5 (3.23)	26.6 (3.36)	26.7 (3.38)	27.8 (3.52)	28.7 (3.63)	27.6 (3.48)	28.0 (3.53)	27.7 (3.48)	28.2 (3.57)	28.3 (3.59)

Death Rate by Region and Year

Region	Population (2022)	Death Rate (2022)	Death Rate (2021)	Death Rate (2020)	Death Rate (2019)	Death Rate (2018)	Death Rate (2017)	Death Rate (2016)	Death Rate (2015)	Death Rate (2014)	Death Rate (2013)	Death Rate (2012)	Death Rate (2011)	Death Rate (2010)	Death Rate (2009)
Turkey		5.9	6.7	6.1	5.3	5.2	5.3	5.3	5.2	5.1	4.9	5.0	5.1	5.0	5.1
		4.6	5.4	4.9	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.1	4.1	3.9	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.2
		9.0	9.8	8.1	7.7	7.8	7.8	7.7	7.8	7.5	7.1	7.3	7.3	7.3	7.3
		7.7	8.2	7.5	6.7	6.6	6.6	6.6	6.4	6.1	5.9	6.2	6.2	5.9	6.0
		6.3	7.3	6.3	5.6	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.5	5.4	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.6
		5.5	6.2	6.1	5.0	5.0	5.0	4.9	4.7	4.7	4.5	4.6	4.7	4.6	4.8
		5.7	6.5	5.8	5.0	4.9	4.9	5.0	4.8	4.6	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5
		6.7	7.8	7.1	5.9	5.9	6.1	6.1	5.9	5.8	5.5	5.5	5.7	5.5	5.7
		8.8	9.9	8.5	7.6	7.6	7.6	7.6	7.4	7.3	6.9	7.0	7.0	6.8	7.0
		8.7	9.6	8.0	7.2	7.0	7.3	7.0	6.9	6.8	6.3	6.5	6.5	6.2	6.4
		5.2	6.1	5.7	4.9	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	4.9	4.8	5.0	5.4	5.0	5.1
		4.3	5.2	5.1	4.1	4.0	4.2	4.2	4.1	4.1	4.1	4.1	4.5	4.4	4.5
		3.5	4.3	4.2	3.5	3.3	3.4	3.7	3.4	3.5	3.4	3.5	3.6	3.7	3.8

Total births and deaths by region and year

Absolute Births by Region and Year

Region	Population (2022)	Births (2022)	Births (2021)	Births (2020)	Births (2019)	Births (2018)	Births (2017)	Births (2016)	Births (2015)	Births (2014)	Births (2013)	Births (2012)	Births (2011)	Births (2010)	Births (2009)
Turkey
East Marmara

Absolute Deaths by Region and Year

Region	Population (2022)	Deaths (2022)	Deaths (2021)	Deaths (2020)	Deaths (2019)	Deaths (2018)	Deaths (2017)	Deaths (2016)	Deaths (2015)	Deaths (2014)	Deaths (2013)	Deaths (2012)	Deaths (2011)	Deaths (2010)	Deaths (2009)
Turkey
East Marmara

Natural increase by region and year

Natural Increase by Region and Year

Region	Population (2022)	Natural Increase (2022)	Natural Increase (2021)	Natural Increase (2020)	Natural Increase (2019)	Natural Increase (2018)	Natural Increase (2017)	Natural Increase (2016)	Natural Increase (2015)	Natural Increase (2014)	Natural Increase (2013)	Natural Increase (2012)	Natural Increase (2011)	Natural Increase (2010)	Natural Increase (2009)
Turkey		530 956/6.3	516 851/6.2	608 894/7.3	753 315/9.1	829 497/10.2	873 596/10.9	893 240/11.3	931 380/11.9	959 997/12.4	924 464/12.1	918 085/12.2	876 650/11.8	894 698/12.2	897 048/12.5
		96 333/6.1	96 475/6.1	116 017/7.5	144 778/9.4	160 419/10.6	169 848/11.4	177 455/12.0	182 795/12.6	184 388/12.9	174 620/12.5	171 898/12.5	160 276/11.9	161 009/12.3	156 680/12.2
		1 497/0.4	-692/-0.2	7 137/2.0	10 570/2.9	13 134/3.7	13 714/3.9	14 079/4.1	14 246/4.2	15 274/4.6	15 577/4.8	15 021/4.7	13 891/4.4	13 277/4.2	13 713/4.4
		23 160/2.1	21 660/2.0	33 733/3.2	48 976/4.7	58 935/5.6	64 393/6.2	66 477/6.5	72 343/7.2	76 312/7.7	74 648/7.6	73 185/7.5	68 210/7.0	71 454/7.4	72 859/7.7
East Marmara	8 511 450	39 623/4.7	37 302/4.4	48 406/5.9	60 800/7.6	67 306/8.5	69 212/8.9	69 957/9.2	70 644/9.5	71 108/9.8	67 470/9.5	66 983/9.6	61 610/8.9	62 860/9.3	63 549/9.6
		44 955/5.4	42 523/5.2	48 134/5.9	64 774/8.0	71 994/9.1	76 169/9.7	78 691/10.2	81 880/10.8	82 816/11.1	79 374/10.9	77 910/10.8	74 929/10.6	74 651/10.7	74 758/11.0
		71 437/6.5	68 276/6.3	80 891/7.5	98 149/9.3	108 913/10.5	116 282/11.4	121 332/12.0	127 463/12.8	131 833/13.4	126 737/13.1	126 581/13.2	120 917/12.8	124 289/13.3	126 242/13.8
		19 166/4.6	16 395/4.0	21 530/5.2	29 627/7.3	32 637/8.2	34 928/8.8	36 467/9.3	38 483/9.9	41 067/10.6	40 431/10.5	41 585/10.8	41 116/10.7	42 917/11.2	45 592/12.0
		881/0.2	-2 197/-0.5	6 178/1.3	14 229/3.0	16 721/3.6	18 031/4.0	19 363/4.3	21 640/4.8	24 327/5.4	26 358/5.9	26 901/6.0	26 860/6.0	30 852/6.8	32 693/7.3
		1 708/0.6	296/0.2	6 340/2.3	10 282/3.8	12 396/4.6	12 373/4.7	13 753/5.3	14 472/5.6	15 525/6.1	16 562/6.5	16 270/6.4	16 570/6.6	18 698/7.4	19 407/7.7
		21 296/9.8	22 634/10.4	24 993/11.4	29 834/13.5	31 015/14.1	34 347/15.6	35 589/16.2	36 707/16.7	39 209/17.8	38 938/17.6	39 729/17.8	38 909/17.6	40 623/18.5	39 624/18.0
		45 808/11.7	45 929/11.6	50 028/12.7	59 748/15.2	62 330/16.0	65 047/16.9	65 166/17.0	67 997/17.8	71 586/18.9	69 533/18.5	68 599/18.4	67 793/18.4	69 941/19.2	70 321/19.4
		165 092/17.8	168 250/18.4	165 507/18.3	181 548/20.3	193 697/22.2	199 252/23.2	194 911/23.1	202 710/24.4	206 552/25.3	194 216/24.2	193 423/24.5	185 569/24.1	184 127/24.5	181 610/24.5

Historical fertility rate

Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and CBR (Crude Birth Rate):^[15]

Year	CBR (Total)	TFR (Total)	CBR (Urban)	TFR (Urban)	CBR (Rural)	TFR (Rural)
1993	22,9	2,7 (1,8)	21,7	2,4 (1,7)	24,0	3,1 (2,0)
1998	23,4	2,61 (1,9)	22,8	2,39 (1,9)	24,7	3,08 (2,1)

Total fertility rate by region in Turkey by Turkish General Census (GNS) and Turkish population and health research (TNSA).

	South-East	East	Mediterranean	Black Sea	Central	Aegean	Marmara	Turkey
TNSA 1978		6,31	3,77	4,99	4,26		2,89	4,33
GNS 1980	4,61	4,64	3,50	3,65	3,76	2,81	2,73	3,41
TNSA 1993		4,40	2,37	3,15	2,44		2,03	2,65
TNSA 1998		4,19	2,55	2,68	2,56		2,03	2,61
GNS 2000	4,31	3,72	2,43	2,28	2,29	1,96	1,88	2,53
TNSA 2003		3,65	2,30	1,94	1,86		1,88	2,23
GNS rural 2000	4,80	4,52	2,52	2,56	2,91	2,23	2,03	2,87
GNS urban 2000	4,05	3,08	2,38	2,01	2,05	1,80	1,85	2,20
GNS metropolitan 2000	3,81	2,34	2,41	1,87	1,89	1,60	1,83	2,03

Total fertility rate (TFR) by province and year

Figures from Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat):^[16]

Structure of the population

Structure of the population (31.XII.2015) (Data based on Address Based Population Registration System.):^{[19] [20] [21]}

Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
Total	39,511,191	39,229,862	78,741,053	100
0–4	3,275,520	3,105,996	6,381,516	8.10
5–9	3,252,811	3,084,908	6,337,719	8.05
10–14	3,166,860	3,000,125	6,166,985	7.83
15–19	3,382,363	3,203,137	6,585,500	8.36
20–24	3,224,168	3,089,999	6,314,167	8.02
25–29	3,178,350	3,084,899	6,263,249	7.95
30–34	3,252,171	3,175,879	6,428,150	8.16
35–39	3,134,041	3,069,282	6,203,323	7.88
40–44	2,788,425	2,764,155	5,552,580	7.05
45–49	2,337,087	2,252,992	4,590,079	5.83
50–54	2,317,534	2,315,375	4,632,909	5.88
55–59	1,843,354	1,837,816	3,681,170	4.68
60–64	1,515,065	1,593,402	3,108,467	3.95
65–69	1,100,734	1,255,651	2,356,385	2.99
70–74	737,892	888,292	1,626,184	2.07
75–79	501,411	682,335	1,183,746	1.50
80–84	339,904	470,584	810,488	1.03
85–89	128,879	261,571	390,450	0.50
90+	34,622	93,364	127,986	0.16

Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	9,695,191	9,191,029	18,886,220	23.99
15–64	26,972,558	26,387,036	53,359,594	67.77
65+	2,843,442	3,651,797	6,495,239	8.25

Structure of the population (31.XII.2016):

Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
Total	40,043,650	39,771,221	79,814,871	100
0–4	3,314,542	3,144,753	6,459,295	8.09
5–9	3,253,345	3,084,099	6,337,444	7.94
10–14	3,147,133	2,981,910	6,129,043	7.68
15–19	3,400,443	3,222,876	6,623,319	8.30
20–24	3,247,764	3,117,959	6,365,723	7.98
25–29	3,169,360	3,076,681	6,246,041	7.83
30–34	3,196,645	3,113,766	6,310,411	7.91
35–39	3,275,175	3,219,158	6,494,333	8.14
40–44	2,833,655	2,800,662	5,634,317	7.06
45–49	2,412,875	2,335,639	4,748,514	5.95
50–54	2,381,640	2,374,604	4,756,244	5.96
55–59	1,855,171	1,860,565	3,715,736	4.66
60–64	1,636,510	1,706,438	3,342,948	4.19
65–69	1,132,464	1,280,073	2,412,537	3.02
70–74	763,121	917,371	1,680,492	2.11
75–79	512,607	689,443	1,202,050	1.51
80–84	336,206	473,119	809,325	1.01
85–89	136,238	265,520	401,758	0.50
90+	38,756	106,585	145,341	0.18

Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	9,715,020	9,210,762	18,925,782	23.71
15–64	27,409,238	26,828,348	54,237,586	67.95
65+	2,919,392	3,732,111	6,651,503	8.33

Structure of the population (31.XII.2017):

Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
Total	40 535 135	40 275 390	80 810 525	100
0–4	3 326 591	3 155 258	6 481 849	8.02
5–9	3 254 177	3 086 592	6 340 769	7.85
10–14	3 188 333	3 022 537	6 210 870	7.69
15–19	3 351 043	3 175 544	6 526 587	8.08
20–24	3 294 336	3 162 174	6 456 510	7.99
25–29	3 163 889	3 067 653	6 231 542	7.71
30–34	3 189 075	3 107 849	6 296 924	7.79
35–39	3 308 413	3 252 283	6 560 696	8.12
40–44	2 891 799	2 849 020	5 740 819	7.10
45–49	2 556 364	2 498 790	5 055 154	6.26
50–54	2 349 139	2 326 316	4 675 455	5.79
55–59	1 977 328	1 989 399	3 966 727	4.91
60–64	1 651 215	1 720 023	3 371 238	4.17
65–69	1 188 986	1 322 918	2 511 904	3.11
70–74	784 614	952 653	1 737 267	2.15
75–79	533 757	715 428	1 249 185	1.55
80–84	330 240	471 436	801 676	0.99
85–89	152 317	282 516	434 833	0.54
90+	43 519	117 001	160 520	0.20

Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	9 769 101	9 264 387	19 033 488	23.55
15–64	27 732 601	27 149 051	54 881 652	67.91
65+	3 033 433	3 861 952	6 895 385	8.53

Structure of the population (31.XII.2018):

Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
Total	41 139 980	40 863 902	82 003 882	100
0–4	3 327 780	3 157 206	6 484 986	7.91%
5–9	3 264 608	3 094 412	6 358 920	7.75%
10–14	3 254 277	3 086 146	6 340 423	7.73%
15–19	3 299 449	3 124 818	6 424 267	7.83%
20–24	3 347 297	3 199 832	6 547 129	7.98%
25–29	3 190 023	3 086 446	6 276 469	7.65%
30–34	3 205 205	3 127 948	6 333 153	7.72%
35–39	3 316 603	3 259 469	6 576 072	8.02%
40–44	2 953 329	2 892 697	5 846 026	7.13%
45–49	2 670 183	2 640 524	5 310 707	6.48%
50–54	2 372 182	2 329 142	4 701 324	5.73%
55–59	2 076 882	2 095 459	4 172 341	5.09%
60–64	1 692 130	1 753 731	3 445 861	4.20%
65–69	1 245 979	1 366 228	2 612 207	3.19%
70–74	835 353	1 021 569	1 856 922	2.26%
75–79	539 825	722 725	1 262 550	1.54%
80–84	318 882	474 854	793 736	0.97%
85–89	182 957	302 957	485 914	0.59%
90+	47 136	127 739	174 875	0.21%

Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	9 846 565	9 337 764	19 184 329	23.39%
15–64	28 123 283	27 510 066	55 633 349	67.84%
65+	3 170 132	4 016 072	7 186 204	8.76%

Structure of the population (31.XII.2019):

Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
Total	41 721 136	41 433 861	83 154 997	100
0–4	3 254 719	3 090 417	6 345 136	7.63%
5–9	3 316 621	3 144 418	6 461 039	7.77%
10–14	3 288 207	3 117 963	6 406 170	7.70%
15–19	3 254 891	3 076 703	6 331 594	7.61%
20–24	3 392 374	3 231 704	6 624 078	7.97%
25–29	3 240 657	3 126 654	6 367 311	7.66%
30–34	3 221 381	3 141 636	6 363 017	7.65%
35–39	3 324 759	3 260 084	6 584 843	7.92%
40–44	3 016 898	2 950 486	5 967 384	7.18%
45–49	2 772 838	2 760 721	5 533 559	6.65%
50–54	2 367 577	2 307 796	4 675 373	5.62%
55–59	2 178 454	2 211 543	4 389 997	5.28%
60–64	1 754 500	1 800 269	3 554 769	4.27%
65–69	1 301 371	1 421 301	2 722 672	3.27%
70–74	907 850	1 109 063	2 016 913	2.43%
75–79	560 695	747 604	1 308 299	1.57%
80–84	323 732	493 998	817 730	0.98%
85–89	192 938	304 472	497 410	0.60%
90+	50 674	137 029	187 703	0.23%

Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	9 859 547	9 352 798	19 212 345	23.10%
15–64	28 524 329	27 867 596	56 391 925	67.82%
65+	3 337 260	4 213 467	7 550 727	9.08%

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (31.XII.2020):^[22]

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	41 915 985	41 698 377	83 614 362	100
0–4	3 140 172	2 981 535	6 121 707	7.32
5–9	3 349 253	3 177 340	6 526 593	7.81
10–14	3 294 985	3 124 952	6 419 937	7.68
15–19	3 201 588	3 028 526	6 230 114	7.45
20–24	3 408 434	3 255 202	6 663 636	7.97
25–29	3 240 543	3 130 411	6 370 954	7.62
30–34	3 199 710	3 119 184	6 318 894	7.56
35–39	3 270 512	3 203 071	6 473 583	7.74
40–44	3 145 645	3 089 465	6 235 110	7.46
45–49	2 788 035	2 775 631	5 563 666	6.65
50–54	2 325 190	2 259 442	4 584 632	5.48
55–59	2 273 088	2 304 499	4 577 587	5.47
60–64	1 764 938	1 809 456	3 574 394	4.27
65–69	1 399 052	1 539 663	2 938 715	3.51
70–74	960 742	1 170 963	2 131 705	2.55
75–79	583 671	771 675	1 355 346	1.62
80–84	339 767	521 432	861 199	1.03
85–89	177 532	289 216	466 748	0.56
90+	53 128	146 714	199 842	0.24
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	9 784 410	9 283 827	19 068 237	22.80
15–64	28 617 683	27 974 887	56 592 570	67.68
65+	3 513 892	4 439 663	7 953 555	9.51

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (31.XII.2021):^[22]

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	42 428 101	42 252 172	84 680 273	100
0–4	3 033 029	2 880 580	5 913 609	6.98
5–9	3 398 812	3 225 390	6 624 202	7.82
10–14	3 304 851	3 133 301	6 438 152	7.60
15–19	3 203 519	3 026 190	6 229 709	7.36
20–24	3 445 410	3 296 170	6 741 580	7.96
25–29	3 296 919	3 179 980	6 476 899	7.65
30–34	3 212 668	3 129 119	6 341 787	7.49
35–39	3 228 063	3 158 145	6 386 208	7.54
40–44	3 294 071	3 253 091	6 547 162	7.73
45–49	2 838 766	2 823 495	5 662 261	6.69
50–54	2 403 726	2 350 758	4 754 484	5.61
55–59	2 337 304	2 369 876	4 707 180	5.56
60–64	1 776 254	1 835 662	3 611 916	4.27
65–69	1 508 990	1 647 458	3 156 448	3.73
70–74	982 573	1 192 451	2 175 024	2.57
75–79	598 307	794 411	1 392 718	1.64
80–84	340 568	520 841	861 409	1.02
85–89	169 807	286 741	456 548	0.54
90+	54 464	148 513	202 977	0.24
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	9 736 692	9 239 271	18 975 963	22.41
15–64	29 036 700	28 422 486	57 459 186	67.85
65+	3 654 709	4 590 415	8 245 124	9.74

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (31.XII.2022):^[22]

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	42 704 112	42 575 441	85 279 553	100
0–4	2 904 379	2 759 241	5 663 620	6.64
5–9	3 404 972	3 230 105	6 635 077	7.78
10–14	3 303 371	3 133 043	6 436 414	7.55
15–19	3 244 500	3 070 609	6 315 109	7.41
20–24	3 388 724	3 245 984	6 634 708	7.78
25–29	3 334 439	3 218 730	6 553 169	7.68
30–34	3 199 028	3 116 019	6 315 047	7.41
35–39	3 215 451	3 151 290	6 366 741	7.47
40–44	3 321 873	3 284 156	6 606 029	7.75
45–49	2 893 831	2 869 703	5 763 534	6.76
50–54	2 543 588	2 511 036	5 054 624	5.93
55–59	2 305 846	2 321 295	4 627 141	5.53
60–64	1 893 862	1 962 809	3 856 671	4.52
65–69	1 523 412	1 661 877	3 185 289	3.74
70–74	1 031 897	1 232 222	2 264 119	2.65
75–79	617 021	827 777	1 444 798	1.69
80–84	353 290	540 167	893 457	1.05
85–89	165 676	284 407	450 083	0.53
90+	58 952	154 971	213 923	0.25
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	9 612 722	9 122 389	18 735 111	21.97
15–64	29 341 142	28 751 631	58 092 773	68.12
65+	3 750 248	4 701 421	8 451 669	9.91

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (31.XII.2023):^[22]

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	42 734 071	42 638 306	85 372 377	100
0–4	2 741 873	2 606 181	5 348 054	6.26
5–9	3 368 825	3 197 661	6 566 486	7.69
10–14	3 283 764	3 113 329	6 397 093	7.49
15–19	3 283 511	3 113 008	6 396 519	7.49
20–24	3 317 007	3 158 513	6 475 520	7.59
25–29	3 330 851	3 212 210	6 543 061	7.66
30–34	3 172 482	3 094 683	6 267 165	7.34
35–39	3 190 762	3 138 484	6 329 246	7.41
40–44	3 298 682	3 265 956	6 564 638	7.69
45–49	2 932 767	2 894 024	5 826 791	6.83
50–54	2 637 680	2 634 986	5 272 666	6.18
55–59	2 315 313	2 311 209	4 626 522	5.42
60–64	1 980 198	2 055 612	4 035 810	4.73
65–69	1 554 059	1 686 354	3 240 413	3.80
70–74	1 077 788	1 267 553	2 345 341	2.75
75–79	656 329	886 599	1 542 928	1.81
80–84	357 820	546 603	904 423	1.06
85–89	163 397	288 413	451 810	0.53
90+	70 963	166 928	237 891	0.28
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	9 394 462	8 917 171	18 311 633	21.45
15–64	29 459 253	28 878 685	58 337 938	68.33
65+	3 880 356	4 842 450	8 722 806	10.22

Immigration

See main article: Immigration to Turkey. Immigration to Turkey is the process by which people migrate to Turkey to reside in the country. After the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire and following Turkish War of Independence, an exodus by the large portion of Turkish (Turkic) and Muslim peoples from the Balkans (Balkan Turks, Albanians, Bosniaks, Pomaks), Caucasus (Abkhazians, Ajarians, Circassians, Chechens), Crimea (Crimean Tatar diaspora), and Crete (Cretan Turks) took refuge in present-day Turkey and moulded the country's fundamental features. Trends of immigration towards Turkey continue to this day, although the motives are more varied and are usually in line with the patterns of global immigration movements — Turkey, for example, receives many economic migrants from nearby countries such as Armenia, Moldova, Georgia, Iran, and Azerbaijan, but also from Central Asia, Ukraine and Russia. Turkey's migrant crisis during the 2010s saw high numbers of people arriving in Turkey, particularly those fleeing the Syrian civil war.

As of August 2023, the number of refugees of the Syrian civil war in Turkey was estimated to be 3,307,882 people. The number of Syrians had decreased by 205,894 people since the beginning of the year.^[23] In 2022, nearly 100 000 Russian citizens migrated to Turkey, becoming the first in the list of foreigners who moved to Turkey, meaning an increase of more than 218% from 2021.^[24]

In order to obtain Turkish citizenship there is a range of legal grounds, which can include: reunification with their family, marriage to a Turkish citizen, for the purchase of real estate worth $400,000 from a Turkish citizen or company.^[25] The minimum investment amount was increased in May 2022, previously it was enough to invest $250,000. Also the basis is to work in Turkey, training, business, medical treatment, refugee status.

In 2023 the foreign population of Türkiye decreased by 253,293 down to 1,570,543.^[26]

Population in Turkey by country of citizenship by the end of each years:^[22]

Country	2022	2021	2020
Total people living in Turkey	85 279 553	84 680 273	83 614 362
Turkey	83 455 717 (97.86%)	82 888 237 (97.88%)	82 280 952 (98.41%)
Total foreign population	1 823 836 (2.14%)	1 792 036 (2.12%)	1 333 410 (1.59%)
Iraq	275 305 (0.32%)	322 015 (0.38%)	281 074 (0.34%)
Afghanistan	186 160 (0.22%)	183 567 (0.22%)	158 252 (0.19%)
Russian Federation	151 049 (0.18%)	66 786 (0.08%)	43 679 (0.05%)
	117 026 (0.14%)	128 883 (0.15%)	68 561 (0.08%)
Turkmenistan	116 447 (0.14%)	123 965 (0.15%)	91 218 (0.11%)
Germany	110 453 (0.13%)	102 592 (0.12%)	92 284 (0.11%)
	99 360 (0.12%)	104 554 (0.12%)	88 907 (0.11%)
Azerbaijan	68 884 (0.08%)	68 562(0.08%)	48 495 (0.06%)
Uzbekistan	61 754 (0.07%)	71 145 (0.08%)	36 510 (0.04%)
Ukraine	50 357 (0.06%)	23 377 (0.03%)	17 505 (0.02%)
Kazakhstan	45 530 (0.05%)	39 454 (0.05%)	23 645 (0.03%)
Egypt	33 040 (0.04%)	34 162 (0.04%)	25 475 (0.03%)
	26 278 (0.03%)	28 027 (0.03%)	17 915 (0.02%)
Kyrgyzstan	24 485 (0.03%)	26 541 (0.03%)	18 019 (0.02%)
Jordan	22 733 (0.03%)	23 656 (0.03%)	14 260 (0.02%)
Libya	21 677 (0.03%)	24 188 (0.03%)	18 607 (0.02%)
Austria	21 311 (0.02%)	19 900 (0.02%)	18 047 (0.02%)
Somalia	20 906 (0.02%)	28 081 (0.03%)	17 245 (0.02%)
Yemen	19 099 (0.02%)	18 094 (0.02%)	14 927 (0.02%)
Morocco	18 482 (0.02%)	20 520 (0.02%)	12 122 (0.01%)
United Kingdom	17 193 (0.02%)	16 440 (0.02%)	13 985 (0.02%)
China	16 880 (0.02%)	20 486 (0.02%)	18 740 (0.02%)
Bulgaria	16 612 (0.02%)	15 426 (0.02%)	14 195 (0.02%)
Pakistan	16 505 (0.02%)	17 290 (0.02%)	7 248 (0.01%)
	14 680 (0.02%)	19 276 (0.02%)	15 661 (0.02%)
Greece	13 583 (0.02%)	12 569 (0.01%)	12 137 (0.01%)
Nigeria	12 928 (0.02%)	12 920 (0.02%)	7 120 (0.01%)
United States	12 793 (0.02%)	12 773 (0.02%)	9 032 (0.01%)
Lebanon	12 430 (0.01%)	13 242 (0.02%)	5 943 (0.01%)
Algeria	12 248 (0.01%)	10 698 (0.01%)	5 914 (0.01%)
Sudan	11 613 (0.01%)	9 538 (0.01%)	3 193 (<0.01%)
Indonesia	11 280 (0.01%)	10 219 (0.01%)	5 226 (0.01%)
Netherlands	8 104 (0.01%)	7 686 (0.01%)	6 550 (0.01%)
Tajikistan	7 153 (0.01%)	7 965 (0.01%)	3 626 (<0.01%)
	6 790 (0.01%)	7 546 (0.01%)	6 295 (0.01%)
Kuwait	6 190 (0.01%)	5 498 (0.01%)	3 559 (<0.01%)
Ethiopia	6 165 (0.01%)	6 633 (0.01%)	2 936 (<0.01%)
Tunisia	6 075 (0.01%)	6 033 (0.01%)	2 961 (<0.01%)
Belarus	5 169 (0.01%)	3 873 (<0.01%)
India	4 669 (0.01%)	3 092 (<0.01%)
France	4 526 (0.01%)	4 294 (0.01%)	3 181 (<0.01%)

Internal migration

Place of origin (rows) versus place of residence (columns) for Turkish citizens in 2014^[27] ! Regions! İstanbul! West Marmara! Aegean! East Marmara! West Anatolia! Mediterranean! Central Anatolia! West Black Sea! East Black Sea! Northeast Anatolia! Central East Anatolia! Southeast Anatolia! Total Population

İstanbul	2,162,588	79,009	72,123	84,689	38,802	38,673	4,858	11,976	9,147	3,533	3,667	4,754	2,513,819
West Marmara	523,725	2,378,938	187,256	135,364	44,409	27,376	5,140	10,238	4,513	5,273	7,110	8,861	3,338,203
Aegean	297,143	76,518	7,047,801	210,522	134,073	166,785	16,606	22,252	10,354	14,936	20,388	28,224	8,045,602
East Marmara	520,698	67,299	131,586	4,317,877	187,043	61,782	10,715	33.371	10,701	8,074	9,775	12,286	5,371,207
West Anatolia	272,835	35,919	259,387	127,794	3,721,634	192,934	49,942	29,545	8,468	10,360	13,727	20,850	4,743,395
Mediterranean	470,673	53,295	250,529	111,393	228,398	7,329,964	100,729	32,461	16,963	21,667	46,013	181,874	8,843,959
Central Anatolia	1,346,007	92,421	297,114	235,407	1,223,857	305,343	3,466,971	70,729	16,604	20,204	32,153	36,818	7,143,628
West Black Sea	2,637,016	186,103	252,628	458,730	956,151	133,053	54,578	3,982,185	42,935	18,878	21,757	27,735	8,771,749
East Black Sea	1,918,805	96,494	152,843	529,110	241,801	70,823	19,104	198,869	2,382,704	33,854	11,852	13,140	5,669,399
Northeast Anatolia	1,580,876	120,086	504,588	593,882	344,929	101,600	63,029	34,656	32,761	2,009,253	39,921	20,576	5,446,157
Central East Anatolia	1,293,157	86,315	359,161	299,390	167,451	393,102	31,612	22,064	11,070	31,709	3,438,577	133,862	6,267,470
Southeast Anatolia	1,197,959	65,538	445,279	174,765	156,489	1,002,771	33,876	23,666	11,689	22,036	150,028	7,738,941	11,023,037
Total population	14,221,482	3,337,935	9,960,295	7,278,923	7,445,037	9,824,206	3,857,160	4,472,012	2,557,909	2,199,777	3,794,968	8,227,921	77,177,625

Ethnicity

See main article: Minorities in Turkey. Modern Turkey was founded by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk as secular (Laiklik, Turkish adaptation of French Laïcité), i.e. without a state religion, or separate ethnic divisions/ identities. The concept of "minorities" has only been accepted by the Republic of Turkey as defined by the Treaty of Lausanne (1923) and thence strictly limited to Greeks, Jews and Armenians, only based on religious affiliation, excluding from the scope of the concept the ethnic identities of these minorities as of others such as the Kurds who make up 15% of the country; others include Assyrians/Syriacs of various Christian denominations, Alevis and all the others.^{[28] [29] [30] [31]} Provisions of the Lausanne Treaty were extended to Bulgarians in Turkey by the Turkey-Bulgaria Friendship Treaty (Turkish: Türkiye ve Bulgaristan Arasındaki Dostluk Antlaşması) of 18 October 1925.^{[30] [32] [33] [34]} According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Turkey), as of 2008, there were 89,000 Turkish citizens belonging to one of the three recognized minorities, two thirds of Armenian descent.^[35] On 18 June 2013, the Ankara 13th Circuit Administrative Court unanimously ruled that the Assyrians were included as beneficiaries of the Lausanne Treaty,^[36] so that Assyrians were allowed to open the first school teaching in their mother tongue.^{[37] [38]}

The word Turk or Turkish also has a wider meaning in a historical context because, at times, especially in the past, it has been used to refer to all Muslim inhabitants of the Ottoman Empire irrespective of their ethnicity.^[39]

According to the 2016 edition of the CIA World Factbook, 70–75% of Turkey's population consists of ethnic Turks, with Kurds accounting for 19% and other minorities between 6 and 11%.^[40] According to Milliyet, a 2008 report prepared for the National Security Council of Turkey by academics of three Turkish universities in eastern Anatolia suggested that there are approximately 55 million ethnic Turks, 9.6 million Kurds, 3 million Zazas, 2.5 million Circassians, 2 million Bosniaks, 500,000–1.3 million Albanians, 1,000,000 Georgians, 870,000 Arabs, 600,000 Pomaks, 80,000 Laz, 60,000 Armenians, 30,000 British, 25,000 Assyrians/Syriacs, 20,000 Jews, and 15,000 Greeks, 500 Yazidis living in Turkey.^[41]

According to a survey published in 2022 by Konda Research, Turks make up 77% of the population, while 19% self-identify as Kurd. Arabs (Syrian refugees excluded) make up 2%, and other ethnic groups are 2% of the population.^[42]

Since the immigration to the big cities in the west of Turkey, interethnic marriage has become more common. A recent study estimates that there are 2,708,000 marriages between Turks and Kurds.^[43]

According to a survey done in March 2020 by Area Araştırma, 20.4% of the total population of Turkey claim to be Kurdish (either Kurmanji speaking or Zazaki speaking).

Ethnolinguistic estimates in 2014 by Ethnologue and Jacques Leclerc:^{[44] [45]}

People	Population	Percentage	Language	Status
	53,402,000	70.6%	Turkish	1 (National)
	8,127,000	10.7%	Kurmanji	3 (Wider communication)
	5,881,000	7.7%	Turkish	1 (National)
	1,155,000	1.5%	Zaza	5 (Developing)
	1,133,000	1.4%	Levantine Arabic
	1,062,000	1.4 %	Kabardian	5 (Developing)
	722,000	0.9%	Mesopotamian Arabic	6a (Vigorous)
Azerbaijani	540,000	0.7%	Azerbaijani	5 (Developing)
Romani	500,000 (1985)	0.7%	Romani, Domari
Gagauzes	418,000	0.5%	Balkan Gagauz Turkish	7 (Shifting)
Pomaks	351,000	0.4%	Bulgarian	5 (Dispersed)
Pontic Greeks	321,000	0.4%	Pontic Greek	6a (Vigorous)
	316,000	0.4%	Adyghe	5 (Developing)
Alevi Kurds	184,000	0.2%	Zazaki
Georgians	151,000	0,1 %	Georgian	6b (Threatened)
Bosniaks	101,000	0.1%	Bosnian
Chechens	101,000	0.1%	Chechen
Crimean Tatars	100,000	0.1%	Crimean Tatar	5 (Developing)
Lazi	93,000	0.1%	Laz language	6b (Threatened)
Karakalpaks	74,000		Karakalpak
Albanians	66,000		Tosk Albanian	6b (Threatened)
Armenians	61,000		Armenian	6b (Threatened)
Abkhazians	44,000		Abkhazian	6b (Threatened)
Han Chinese	38,000		Chinese
Ossetians	37,000		Ossetian
British	35,000		English
Bulgarians	32,000		Bulgarian
Jews	30,000		Turkish, Ladino	7 (Shifting)
Tatars	26,000		Tatar
Assyrians	25,000		Aramaic
	22,000		Urdu
Assyrians	15,000		Turoyo	6b (Threatened)
Turks other (Hemshin, Meskhetian Turks, Gajal)	57,000		Turkish
Kurds other (Herki and Shikaki)	62,000		Kurdish
Other	180,000
Total	75,566,800

Languages

See also: Minorities in Turkey, Turkic peoples and Iranian peoples.

See main article: Languages of Turkey. No exact data is available concerning the different ethnic groups in Turkey. The last census data according to language date from 1965 and major changes may have occurred since then. However, it is clear that the Turkish are in the majority, while the largest minority groups are Kurds and Arabs. Smaller minorities are the Armenians, Greeks and others.

Language! colspan="2"

Census 1935^[46]	Census 1945^[47]		Census 1965
Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Turkish	13,828,000	86.02	16,598,037	88.3	28,175,579	90.2
Kurdish	1,480,246	9.16	1,476,562	7.9	2,108,721	6.9
Zazaki					147,707	0.5
Arabic	153,687	0.95	247,294	1.3	368,971	1.2
Greek	108,725	0.67	88,680	0.5	49,143	0.2
Circassian	91,972	0.57	66,691	0.4	57,337	0.2
Ladino	79,000	0.49	51,019	0.3	9,124	0.0
Armenian	57,599	0.36	47,728	0.3	32,484	0.1
Laz	63,253	0.39	39,323	0.3	27,715	0.1
Georgian	57,325	0.35	40,076	0.2	32,334	0.1
Abaza	10,099	0.06	8,602	0.0	10,643	0.0
Total	16,157,450		18,790,174		31,391,207

A possible list of ethnic groups living in Turkey could be as follows:^[48]

1. Turkic-speaking peoples: Turks, Azerbaijanis, Tatars, Karachays, Uzbeks, Crimean Tatars and Uyghurs
2. Indo-European-speaking peoples: Kurds, Zazas,^[49] Megleno-Romanians,^[50] Bosniaks, Albanians, Pomaks, Ossetians, Armenians, Hamshenis, Goranis and Greeks
3. Semitic-speaking peoples: Arabs, Jews and Assyrians/Syriacs
4. Caucasian-speaking peoples: Circassians, Georgians, Lazs and Chechens

Religion

See also: Freedom of religion in Turkey.

Religious affiliation

Muslim and non-Muslim population in Turkey, 1914–2005 (in thousands)! Year! 1914! 1927! 1945! 1965! 1990! 2005

Muslims	12,941	13,290	18,511	31,139	56,860	71,997
Greeks	1,549	110	104	76	8	3
Armenians	1,204	77	60	64	67	50
Jews	128	82	77	38	29	27
Others	176	71	38	74	50	45
Total	15,997	13,630	18,790	31,391	57,005	72,120
Percentage non-Muslim	19.1	2.5	1.5	0.8	0.3	0.2

The percentage of non-Muslims in Turkey fell from 19.1% in 1914 to 2.5% percent in 1927.^[51] The drop was the result of the late Ottoman genocides, the population exchange between Greece and Turkey and the emigration of Christians.^[52] The 1942 Wealth Tax on non-Muslims, the emigration of many of Turkish Jews to Israel after 1948, and the 1955 Istanbul pogrom further contributed to the decline of Turkey's non-Muslim population.

There are no official statistics of people's religious beliefs nor is it asked in the census. According to the government, 99.8% of the Turkish population is Muslim, mostly Sunni, some 8 million are Alevis.^[53] The remaining 0.2% is other - mostly Christians and Jews.^[54] However, these are based on the existing religion information written on every citizen's national id card, that is automatically passed on from the parents to every newborn, and do not necessarily represent individual choice. Religious records can be changed or even blanked on the request of citizen, by filing an e-government application since May 2020, using a valid electronic signature to sign the electronic application. Any change in religion records additionally results in a new ID card being issued. Any change in religion record also leaves a permanent trail in the census record, however, record of change of religion is not accessible except for the citizen in question, next-of-kins of the citizen in question, the citizenship administration and courts.^[55]

In a poll conducted by Sabancı University in 2006, 98.3% of Turks revealed they were Muslim.^[56] A Eurobarometer Poll in 2005 reported that in a poll 98% of Turkish citizens answered that "they believe there is a God", while 1% responded that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, God, or life force".^[57] In a Pew Research Center survey, 53% of Turkey's Muslims said that "religion is very important in their lives".^[58] Based on the Gallup Poll 2006–08, Turkey was defined as More religious, in which over 63 percent of people believe religion is important.^{[59] [60]} According to the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation, 62% of women wear the headscarf or hijab in Turkey.^{[61] [62] [63]}

A poll conducted by Eurobarometer and KONDA and some other research institutes in 2013 showed that around 0.5% of the population had no religion. Another poll conducted by the same institutions in 2018 showed that 3% of those interviewed had no religion.^{[64] [65]}

According to Ipsos survey,^[66] in 2016 Islam was the major religion in Turkey comprising 82% of the total population, followed by religiously unaffiliated people, comprising 13% of the population, and Christians, forming 0.2%.

Religiosity

The vast majority of the present-day Turkish people are Muslim and the most popular sect is the Hanafite school of Sunni Islam, which was officially espoused by the Ottoman Empire; according to the KONDA Research and Consultancy survey carried out throughout Turkey on 2007:^{[67] [53] [68]}

• 52.8% defined themselves as "a religious person who strives to fulfill religious obligations" (Religious)
• 34.3 % defined themselves as "a believer who does not fulfill religious obligations" (Not religious).
• 9.7% defined themselves as "a fully devout person fulfilling all religious obligations" (Fully devout).
• 2.3% defined themselves as "someone who does not believe in religious obligations" (Non-believer).
• 0.9% defined themselves as "someone with no religious conviction" (Atheist).

In 2018 KONDA released a new study:^{[69] [70]}

• 51% defined themselves as "a religious person who strives to fulfill religious obligations" (Religious)
• 34% defined themselves as "a believer who does not fulfill religious obligations" (Not religious).
• 10% defined themselves as "a fully devout person fulfilling all religious obligations" (Fully devout).
• 2% defined themselves as "someone who does not believe in religious obligations" (Non-believer).
• 3% defined themselves as "someone with no religious conviction" (Atheist).

Among those aged between 15 and 29 years old:^[71]

• 43% defined themselves as "a religious person who strives to fulfill religious obligations" (Religious)
• 45% defined themselves as "a believer who does not fulfill religious obligations" (Not religious).
• 5% defined themselves as "a fully devout person fulfilling all religious obligations" (Fully devout).
• 4% defined themselves as "someone who does not believe in religious obligations" (Non-believer).
• 4% defined themselves as "someone with no religious conviction" (Atheist).

There is concern over the future of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, which suffers from a lack of trained clergy due to the closure of the Halki school. The state does not recognise the Ecumenical status of the Patriarch of Constantinople.^[72]

See also

• List of Turkish provinces by life expectancy
• Census in Turkey
• Minorities in Turkey

External links

• Build Turkey population graph: from 1960 till now (World Bank data)
• Build Turkey population projection graph till 2100 (United Nation data)
• Build Turkey life expectancy at birth graph: from 1950 till now (United Nation data)

Notes and References

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