Turkey’s total fertility rate falls to 2.07 in 2017

ANKARA – Anadolu Agency

Turkey’s total fertility rate, the average number of live births that a woman has, fell to 2.07 per woman in 2017, according to data released by Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK).

“While the total fertility rate was 2.11 children in 2016, it was 2.07 children in 2017. This showed that fertility remained below the population’s replacement level of 2.10,” TÜİK stated.

The province with the highest fertility rate was the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa, with 4.29 children per woman in 2017. Şanlıurfa was followed by another southeastern province, Şırnak, with 3.72 children, and the eastern province of Ağrı with 3.60 children and Muş with 3.39 children.

The province with the lowest total fertility rate was the northern province of Gümüşhane with 1.31 children. Gümüşhane was followed by another northern province, Bartın, with 1.45 children, the northwestern province of Edirne with 1.46 children, and the northern province of Zonguldak with 1.48 children.

According to the latest World Bank data, the world’s total fertility rate was 2.4 in 2016.

TÜİK said the highest age specific fertility rate was seen in the 25-29 age group. “The number of live births was 132 per thousand women in 25-29 age group in 2017,” it added.

The number of live births dropped to 1.29 million last year compared to 1.31 million in the previous year.

“Some 51.3 percent of live born babies were boys and 48.7 percent were girls,” it said.

The average age of women who gave birth was 28.7 last year, up from 28.6 the previous year.

“On the other hand, mother’s mean age at first birth was 26 in 2017, up from 25.8 in 2016. A mother’s age at first birth is an important determinant of the overall level of fertility since early childbearing generally leads to a larger family size compared to later onset of childbearing,” TÜİK stated.

TÜİK also revealed that the average household size shrank to 3.4 in 2017, down from 3.7 people in 2012.

The data also showed that the percentage of child marriages for girls aged 16-17 among legal marriages declined to 4.2 percent in 2017 compared to 4.6 percent the previous year.

Early this year, TÜİK said Turkey’s population was 80.8 million at the end of 2017, with an annual growth rate of 1.24 percent.

In February, the statistical authority forecast the country’s total population to cross 100 million in 2040.