Population hits 84.6 mln, growth rate soars

ISTANBUL

Turkey’s population hit 84.6 million as of end-2021, while the population growth rate significantly increased from 5.5 per thousand in 2020 to 12.7 per thousand in 2021, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) announced on Feb. 4.

Some 1.06 million people were added to the country’s population, of which 458,000 were foreign nationals, in 2021, according to TÜİK’s Address-Based Population Registration System (ABPRS).

“Male population was 42.4 million and female population was 42.2 million. While 50.1 percent of the total population were males, 49.9 percent of the total population were females,” the country’s statistical body said in a statement.

The population growth rate in the country rose significantly. The population growth rate, which was 5.5 per thousand in 2020, was 12.7 per thousand in 2021.

The most populous province of the country recorded by TÜİK was again Istanbul with its 15.8 million residents. The population of the Turkish metropolis increased by 378,000 in a year.

Istanbul was followed by the capital Ankara with 5.7 million residents, İzmir with 4.4 million residents, Bursa with 3.1 million residents and Antalya with 2.6 million residents.

With its 83,645 residents, the eastern province of Tunceli was the least populated province in the country, according to TÜİK.

The other least populated provinces are Bayburt with 85,042 residents, Ardahan with 94,932 residents and Kilis with 145,826 residents.

The proportion of the population residing in province and district centers increased from 93 percent in 2020 to 93.2 percent in 2021, according to TÜİK’s report. The proportion of the population living in towns and villages decreased from 7 to 6.8 percent.

The population density, which is the number of persons per square kilometer, increased by one person compared to 2020 and reached 110 in 2021.

The province with the highest number of persons per square kilometer was Istanbul, with 3,049 persons. Neighboring Kocaeli province and İzmir followed Istanbul.

The low population zone across the country is Tunceli, with 11 people per square kilometer. Ardahan and Erzincan, with 20 people per square kilometer, follow Tunceli.

The median age in the country increased from 32.7 to 33.1.

While comparing the data of 2007 and 2021, it showed that the population of older people has increased across the country.

The rate of the elderly population increased from 7.1 percent in 2007 to 9.7 percent in 2021.

On the contrary, during this period, the rate of the population of children under 14 fell sharply from 26.4 percent to 22.4 percent.