16.08.2025 21:43
President Erdoğan has been proven right in his frequent warnings about the population growth rate. Last April, he drew attention to the decline in the population growth rate by stating, "Turkey is heading towards a nightmare." Following this statement, the population statistics released in August revealed that the number of children aged 0-4 has fallen to the lowest levels in the history of the Republic.
The decline in birth rates in Turkey is leading to a rapid aging of the population. The danger warned by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan with the words "This is a matter of survival" has once again been highlighted by the latest data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK). According to the announced statistics, the population aged 0-4 has fallen below 5 million for the first time in the history of the Republic.
ERDOĞAN HAD GIVEN A VERY SERIOUS WARNING
In a speech he made at the 5th Ordinary General Assembly of the Foundation for Women and Democracy (KADEM) last April, President Erdoğan addressed the decline in the rate of population growth, stating, "Turkey is heading towards a nightmare. The Turkish population in Anatolia is rapidly aging. If our nation cannot recover, it will lose its ability to live in these lands. This is a matter of survival. When we defeated the Russians in the Prut War in 1711, our population was 30 million, while the Russians' population was 16 million. By the time of the famous 93 War, known as the great disaster of 1877-78, the Russians had reached 100 million, while the Ottoman Empire had 26 million. During World War I, while Russia's population rose to 175 million, the Ottoman Empire's fell to 22 million. In the Republican era, in the 1960s, they made a mistake by reducing the Turkish population with a birth control system. This is a threat much more significant than war for our country." he had pointed out the danger.
CHILD POPULATION FALLS BELOW 5 MILLION FOR THE FIRST TIME
Following Erdoğan's warnings, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) announced the quarterly population statistics. According to TÜİK's data, the population in the 0-4 age group, which was approximately 5 million 140 thousand in October 2024, has decreased by about 200 thousand in the last nine months, reaching the lowest levels in the history of the Republic. Thus, the population aged 0-4 has fallen below 5 million for the first time. This situation reveals that the decline in birth rates continues and that Turkey's population is aging increasingly.