Three out of 10 people are children in Turkey, data says

ANKARA – Anadolu Agency

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The proportion of Turkey’s child population was almost 30 percent in 2013, with more than 1 million new babies born in one year, according to data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUİK) on April 22.

In 2013, there were more than 22.7 million children in Turkey, out of a total population of over 76.6 million, according to TÜİK, which released the statistics a day before Children’s Day, a national holiday celebrated across Turkey on April 23.

The rate of those younger than 18 was 45 percent in 1935, while it was 29.7 percent as of 2013.
Some 27.3 percent of children are in the “0-4” age group, 27.6 percent are in the “5-9” age group, 28 percent are in the “10-14” age group, and 17.2 percent are in the “15-17” age group. There has been no significant change over time and between genders in these ratios.

Child population set to fall

TUİK stated that urbanization, the rising educational attainment of women, and the increased participation of women in working life, had led to a steady reduction in fertility, postponement of births, and decrease in overall fertility rates in Turkey.

If these tendencies continue, the proportion of children is estimated to fall further to 25.7 percent by 2023, to 19.1 percent by 2050, and to 17.6 percent by 2075.

When the proportion of children in the total population is compared with the proportions of European Union member countries, Turkey’s child population rate - at 29.7 percent in 2013 - is the highest of all. Children make up just 16 percent of the aging German population, 22.2 percent of the French population, 21.2 percent of the British population, and 20.2 percent of the Swedish.

Şırnak province tops in child population rate

The southeastern Turkish province of Şırnak had the highest proportion of children in 2013 at 48.8 percent, followed by Şanlıurfa with 48 percent and Ağrı with 46.3 percent.

The three provinces with the lowest proportion of children were Tunceli with 18.2 percent, Edirne with 19.7 percent, and Çanakkale with 19.9 percent.

Some 53.2 percent of all households in Turkey had at least one child in 2013. The proportion of households with one child was 39.7 percent, with two children was 35.5 percent, with three children was 14.5 percent, with four children was 5.3 percent, and with five or more children was 5 percent.

The province with the highest proportion of households with five or more children was Şırnak with 40.9 percent, followed by Hakkari with 30 percent, and Siirt with 29.2 percent.

When the proportion of households with at least one child was analyzed according to provinces, the highest proportion of households with at least one child was in Şırnak with 81.4 percent.

More than 1.2 million newly born babies were registered in 2013, 51.4 percent of whom were boys. The top three most popular boy’s names were Yusuf, Berat and Mustafa.

Meanwhile, in the 2013/2014 academic year, the average number of students per teacher was 19 in primary schools, 18 in secondary schools and 16 in secondary schools. The average number of students per classroom across all levels of education was 29.

In addition, in 2012, 54.8 percent of households had at least one person who smoked cigarettes, tobacco, cigars. In 34.9 percent of these households there was at least one child, who was therefore exposed to cigarette smoke.