20.11.2025 16:16
In his statements at the 'Family and Culture-Art Symposium,' President Erdoğan drew attention to the decline in the population growth rate, stating, "Our population is increasing, but our population growth rate is decreasing. According to TÜİK data, the fertility rate measured last year was 1.48. We are currently experiencing a disaster. The alarm bells are ringing very loudly."
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made striking statements at the 'Family and Culture-Art Symposium' held at the Beştepe National Library.
In his speech, Erdoğan drew attention to the decline in the population growth rate, stating, "Our population is increasing, but our population growth rate is decreasing. According to TÜİK data, the fertility rate measured last year was 1.48. We are currently experiencing a disaster. The alarm bells are ringing very loudly."
Highlights from Erdoğan's statements;
"I greet you with my heartfelt feelings, respect, and affection. I am very happy to be with you on the occasion of the closing session of the Family and Culture-Art Symposium and to host you at our Presidential Complex. Welcome to the home of the nation, this heroic place. Through you, I send my regards to all our brothers and sisters who enrich our heart, culture, and diaspora geography with their presence, as well as to our citizens in all 81 provinces."
I would like to thank once again our Presidency's Culture and Art Policies Board and our Ministry of Family in your presence for organizing this important symposium. I sincerely congratulate our Minister and his team; likewise, our Deputy Chairman of the Board and his colleagues, the members of the Advisory Board, our coordinators, and all our speakers.
First of all, I want to express this: Both our Culture and Art Board and our Ministry of Family are signing very productive, successful, and horizon-opening works in their fields. The Family and Culture-Art Symposium, which started yesterday and is being concluded with you today, is one of these efforts.
In the six sessions held, our academics, independent researchers, experts, and many other participants presented their papers. A wide range of topics was discussed here in depth, from digital culture to art and media, from family communication to population policies, and from urbanization to family health.
"THE SYMPOSIUM SHOULD SET AN EXAMPLE"
Above all, I sincerely hope that these discussions will bring blessings to our country and nation, especially for our family institution and our youth. At the same time, I believe it is beneficial to express the following: The findings and diagnoses made at academic meetings are certainly important. It is undoubtedly very important to draw a good theoretical and conceptual framework and to base discussions on solid ground.
However, most importantly, it is to obtain concrete and applicable results and effective solutions based on all of this. I hope that the evaluations made within the scope of the symposium will serve as an example in terms of new and innovative application examples. Likewise, I extend my gratitude to everyone who contributed to the symposium with their presentations, critiques, knowledge, and field experiences. May your efforts be a means of goodness.
Valuable guests, dear brothers and sisters, there are some institutions that not only constitute the essence of a nation but also carry the knowledge they have acquired from the past into the future and guide the future. The family, which is the smallest but the strongest cell of our social structure, is one of these institutions.
When we look at the family, we see the nation, and when we look at the nation, we see the great civilization that constitutes it. In this respect, the family is a school where identity and culture are preserved, national and spiritual values are safeguarded, and these values are passed down from generation to generation.
The late Nurettin Topçu expressed this truth as follows: "The family is the school where customs and traditions, and to a certain extent, our character are shaped. It is the school of love and heart habits. It is the school of patience and tolerance. It is the school of compassion and understanding. It is the school of sacrifice and taking on responsibilities." The issue is as clear and straightforward as that. From this, we can also comfortably say: The more knowledgeable and conscious individuals raised from the family school are, the stronger the society will be.
When we approach the subject from a different perspective, we encounter another truth: You cannot sustain the family without empowering the individual, nor can you sustain the nation and the state without empowering the family. That is why we always say, "Complete person, peaceful family, strong nation." In other words, we are talking about a chain that starts from the essence of humanity and extends to the family, then to society and the nation.
If we want to walk confidently into the future as a prosperous country and shape the age and the world, we need to carefully protect this chain. I believe we all have very important responsibilities in this regard. From our teachers to our parents, from our civil society organizations to central and local governments, we are all obliged to put our hands under the stone in this matter. Otherwise, we cannot raise the generations we desire, nor can we make any progress in this regard.
Dear friends, I must also state this: Just like the family, culture and art reflect us and our values. They express our perspective on the world and beyond, the qualities that make us who we are. Among the fields that establish connections between generations and people, undoubtedly, culture and art come first. Thank God, we possess a heritage that the world admires. We are representatives of a high aesthetic and extraordinary heritage in every branch of culture and art, including literature, music, architecture, handicrafts, calligraphy, and illumination.
"WE ARE TAKING MEASURES AGAINST LGBT DEVIANCE"
On one hand, while rebuilding and revitalizing three continents and entering hearts, on the other hand, it has combined military, political, and administrative capabilities with culture, knowledge, and art. The late Samiha Ayverdi describes our nation's characteristic feature with these words: 'Hands that hold swords also create masterpieces of art when necessary. While preparing and training their material and physical bodies, they do not neglect to improve their spiritual structures.'
For this reason, the centuries of conquests and rise have made the Turkish geography bloom as a ground of prosperity, civilization, and justice. Inspired by the wise perspective of our ancestors, we continue to nourish our family-oriented efforts with culture and art; we are laying the cornerstone for the key stones of the Turkey Century.
Both our ministries and our relevant institutions and organizations are acting with a risk-preventive and multidimensional approach. In a period where global capitalism is opening new fronts, and cultural imperialism and digital siege are increasing in intensity worldwide, we are almost vigilant over the family institution. We are taking all necessary measures against the impositions of gender neutrality and deviant movements like LGBT. At this point, we do not allow the slightest concession, negligence, or complacency.
"WE ARE CURRENTLY EXPERIENCING A DISASTER"
We are effectively combating content that targets the family, our social structure, and our sacred values on social media and digital platforms.
I would like to draw your attention once again to a point I have expressed on various occasions: Our population is increasing, but the rate of population growth is decreasing. The total fertility rate is below the level required for the population to renew itself. According to the data released by TÜİK, the total fertility rate measured last year is 1.48. We are currently experiencing a complete disaster.
"THE ALARM BELLS ARE RINGING LOUDLY"
This rate is well below the 2.10 band, which is the level required for the population to renew itself. Alarm bells are ringing very loudly for our future. No one who cares about the future of this country can remain indifferent to this.
Another important issue is this, dear brothers and sisters: When we look at the data for 2022, the total fertility rate of employed women is 1.38, while the total fertility rate of women not participating in the labor force is 1.72. This shows that the labor market has a limited effect on fertility rates; it turns out that the number of children among women who are not employed has also decreased. The main factor in this is undoubtedly the increasing isolation of women in the city.
"GENTLEMEN, PLEASE DO NOT TAKE OFFENSE, BUT."
I must say this clearly here: Gentlemen, please do not take offense; do not hold it against me, but women often do not receive the necessary support from their husbands in raising children. Unfortunately, a large part of the burden is placed on the shoulders of women.
However, our Prophet (peace be upon him), who is the best example of family life, says: 'Women are the other halves that complete the whole with men.'
Yes, this is exactly the issue. The backbone of our mentality, our social and family structure is this. This is what our faith commands us. We are both living and becoming more individualized for the next generations. As a result, we are becoming isolated. The average household size, which was 4 in 2008, has decreased to 3.011 in 2024.
Similarly, the rate of single-person households, consisting of individuals living alone, has increased by 5 points over the last 8 years, reaching 20%. According to TÜİK data, the rate of single-person households is increasing year by year. We encounter this situation not only in metropolitan areas but also in our Anatolian provinces with relatively smaller populations.
In addition to rural-to-urban migration, profound changes are occurring in every area of our lives due to neoliberal culture and technology. Family privacy and family unity are losing ground today more than ever before.
In light of all these presentations, we have accelerated our efforts to improve our demographic structure and strengthen the institution of family. We declared the year 2025 as the Year of Family.
We have implemented family education and family counseling services. We launched the Family and Youth Fund, which covers all 81 provinces, and provided interest-free loan support to young couples who are about to get married. So far, the number of couples who have qualified to receive this loan has exceeded 62,000.
We have made new and facilitating arrangements regarding income criteria. We have increased the support amount from 150,000 lira to the level of 200,000–250,000 lira. We will, God willing, provide higher amounts of support to young couples getting married starting from the new year.
We have also accelerated our birth assistance. We provide a one-time payment of 5,000 lira for the first child; for the second child, 1,500 lira per month until the age of 5; and for the third and subsequent children, 5,000 lira per month until the age of 5. We declared the period covering 2026–2035, that is, the next 10 years, as the Family and Population Decade.
In line with our goals for the Century of Turkey, we will continue all these efforts in a more effective and determined manner, insha'Allah. We will continue our family and community services with a much higher awareness, from our disabled brothers and sisters to our elderly, from our children to our parents.
Dear brothers and sisters, today is also November 20, World Children's Rights Day. As Turkey, we are working with all our might to guarantee our children's rights to life, education, health, protection, and freedom of expression.
Our children are now growing, learning, spending time, playing, and making friends not only in the streets, neighborhoods, and schools but also in the digital world. This transformation in technology offers significant conveniences for our children in areas such as access to information, productivity, and communication, while also exposing them to new dangers.
We must protect our children from many risks such as cyberbullying, digital addiction, privacy violations, and violent games. For this purpose, we first created a detailed roadmap with the 2023–2028 Turkey Children's Rights Strategy Document and Action Plan. Then, we implemented the Action Plan for Empowering Children in the Digital World, covering the period from 2025 to 2029.
We are increasing digital literacy, supporting safe digital applications, and expanding educational programs for children and families.
I would also like to express with great pride: Today, we are not only protecting the future of our children but also making a call to the world for a child-friendly digital transformation. We have crowned this vision with the Children's Rights Convention in the Digital World, prepared under the leadership of our country and opened for signature internationally.
With this convention, we are leading the construction of a safer digital future for our children as Turkey. I would like to thank all our institutions and civil society organizations that have contributed to these efforts, especially our Ministry of Family.
I sincerely celebrate the World Children's Rights Day on November 20 for all the children of our country and the world. As I conclude my words with these thoughts, I hope that the Family and Culture Arts Symposium will once again be a means of good. I express my gratitude once again to all participants. I greet you all with respect and love; I entrust you to Allah. Stay healthy.