Family size continues to decline in Türkiye: Official data

ANKARA

A declining trend has been observed in the average household size in Türkiye, while the number of individuals living alone is increasing, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) data released on May 15.

TÜİK's 2023 statistics on family structures in the country show that the average family size decreased to three members last year, showing a decline compared to previous periods.

The data indicated a rise in the number of single-person households, with the proportion of such households increasing from 14.4 percent in 2015 to 19.7 percent in 2023.

The proportion of nuclear families — consisting solely of couples, couples with children, or single parents with at least one child — decreased from 66.9 percent in 2015 to 63.8 percent in 2023.

Conversely, the proportion of extended families, defined as those comprising at least one nuclear family and other relatives, declined to 13.2 percent last year.

The northern province of Gümüşhane was the city with the highest ratio of people living alone, with the highest proportion of extended family observed in the southeastern province of Hakkari.

Among the total registered marriages in 2023, the ratio of individuals who had married their relatives, notably their cousins, was 8.2 percent, with the highest incidence occurring in the southeastern province of Mardin.

In a separate dataset released on the same day, the institute reported that the fertility rate, defined as the average number of children a woman would bear during her childbearing years, was 1.51 last year, marking the lowest level in the past 65 years.

The data indicated that the total fertility rate, which was 5.31 in Türkiye during 1965-70, declined to approximately 2.53. The country saw the lowest fertility level recorded last year amidst a continuous decline in birth rates.

The average age of mothers at childbirth increased from 26.7 in 2001 to 29.2 in 2023, with the average age of mothers at first birth being 27.0 in 2023.

Providing comment on the changing family structure of the Turkish family, an expert attributed the increasing rates of solitary living to the early departure of young people from their families for educational or occupational reasons and their subsequent attainment of economic independence, fostering a preference for an autonomous lifestyle.

"Extravagant wedding traditions and rituals, the phenomenon of dual-income households in fast-paced metropolitan areas resulting in couples spending significant time outside the home, and the perception of family as a potential nexus of constraints and conflicts, alongside the increasing discourse on sexual orientation differences, are also factors contributing to the 'isolated lifestyle,'" she said.