Turkey’s total fertility rate fell to 1.42 children per woman in 2025, remaining below the population replacement level for the ninth consecutive year, according to data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) on Thursday.
The figures, included in TurkStat’s “Birth Statistics, 2025” bulletin, showed that the rate, which stood at 2.38 children per woman in 2001, has been in steady decline since 2014.
The total fertility rate refers to the average number of children a woman is expected to have during her reproductive years, defined as ages 15 to 49.
The rate fell from 1.49 in 2024 to 1.42 in 2025. The number of live births was recorded at 895,374, with boys accounting for 51.4 percent of births and girls 48.6 percent.
The decline reflects a demographic trend that has prompted repeated warnings from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and government officials about Turkey’s aging population, slowing population growth and shrinking families.
The geographic distribution of births shows the trend has spread across most of the country, although fertility remains significantly higher in some southeastern provinces.
The highest fertility rate in 2025 was recorded in the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa, at 3.15 children per woman, while the lowest was in the northern province of Bartın, at 1.09.
The number of provinces with fertility rates below the replacement level also rose sharply. While 57 provinces had fertility rates below 2.10 in 2017, the number increased to 76 in 2025.
TurkStat data showed that 59 provinces had fertility rates below 1.50 in 2025, compared with only four in 2017. The number of provinces with fertility rates above three children fell from 10 in 2017 to one, Şanlıurfa, in 2025.
The latest birth statistics also showed that women in Turkey are having children later in life. The highest age-specific fertility rate in 2025 was in the 25-29 age group, while in 2001 it was in the 20-24 age group. The mean age of mothers at birth was 29.4 in 2025, and the mean age at first birth was 27.5.
Adolescent fertility also continued to decline. The adolescent fertility rate, which measures the number of live births per thousand women aged 15 to 19, fell from 49 per thousand in 2001 to nine per thousand in 2025.
The figures come as separate TurkStat data point to a broader shift in family life in Turkey. Separate TurkStat figures released last week showed that the average household size fell to 3.08 people in 2025, down from four in 2008, while the share of one-person households rose to 20.5 percent, meaning roughly one in five households now consists of a person living alone.
Children aged 0 to 17 made up 24.8 percent of Turkey’s population at the end of 2025, the lowest level since records began in 1935. The child population, which accounted for 48.5 percent of the total population in 1970 and 41.8 percent in 1990, has steadily declined in recent decades.
The latest figures come after President Erdoğan declared 2025 the “Year of the Family,” while the period between 2026 and 2035 has been designated as the “Decade of Family and Population.” Authorities have also decided that the last week of May will be marked every year as “National Family Week.”
Erdoğan has repeatedly warned about the country’s declining birthrate, calling it a threat to Turkey’s future and urging families to have at least three children.
His government has announced financial incentives for newlyweds and families with children, but critics say persistently high inflation, rising education costs, youth unemployment and limited social support have made starting or expanding families increasingly difficult.
Turkey’s total population stood at 86,092,168, in 20245, according to data released by the TurkStat in February.