The Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) announced the birth statistics for the year 2023, reporting that the total number of live births in Türkiye last year was 958,408, with 51.3% boys and 48.7% girls.
The "total fertility rate," representing the average number of children a woman can bear during her fertile period (age 15-49), was 2.38 in 2001 and decreased to 1.51 in 2023. This indicates that fertility fell below the replacement level of 2.1, which is the level needed to maintain a stable population.
The city with the highest total fertility rate in Türkiye in 2023 was Şanlıurfa, with 3.27 children.
According to the data, Şanlıurfa had the highest total fertility rate last year at 3.27 children. This was followed by Şırnak with 2.72 children and Mardin with 2.4 children.
The province with the lowest total fertility rate was Bartın, with 1.13 children. Following Bartın were Zonguldak and Karabük, with 1.14 children each, and Kütahya, with 1.16 children.
In comparison, the average total fertility rate for the European Union member countries was recorded as 1.46 children in 2022. When the total fertility rates of the 27 EU member states were examined, France had the highest, total fertility rate in 2022 at 1.79 children, while Malta had the lowest, at 1.08 children.
Türkiye, with a total fertility rate of 1.63 per thousand in 2022, ranking fifth among the EU member countries in terms of fertility rates.
The crude birth rate, which indicates the number of live births per thousand population, was 20.3 per thousand in 2001 and decreased to 11.2 per thousand in 2023. This means that there were 20.3 births per thousand population in 2001 and 11.2 births per thousand in 2023.
Last year, the province with the highest crude birth rate was Şanlıurfa, with 24.8 per thousand. This was followed by Şırnak with 22 per thousand and Mardin with 19.3 per thousand.
The province with the lowest crude birth rate was Zonguldak, with 6.9 per thousand. Following Zonguldak were Bartın with 7.2 per thousand and Karabük with 7.6 per thousand.
Türkiye's crude birth rate was higher than that of the 27 EU member countries. When the crude birth rates of the 27 EU member countries were examined, the Republic of Cyprus had the highest crude birth rate in 2022 at 11.2 per thousand, while Italy had the lowest at 6.7 per thousand.
The age-specific fertility rate, which indicates the average number of live births per thousand women in a specific age group, was highest at 144 per thousand for the 20-24 age group in 2001 and was observed at 101 per thousand for the 25-29 age group in 2023. This shows that fertility occurs at later ages for women.
The average age of mothers giving birth was 26.7 in 2001 and increased to 29.2 in 2023. The average age of mothers giving birth for the first time was determined to be 27 last year.
When the average age of mothers at first birth was examined by province, the provinces with the highest average age at first birth in 2023 were Artvin and Tunceli with 29, followed by Istanbul with 28.6 and Trabzon and Rize with 28.4.
The provinces with the lowest average age at first birth were Muş and Ağrı at 24.2. These were followed by Şanlıurfa at 24.4 and Gaziantep at 24.8.
In 2023, 3.3% of births were multiples, with 95.6% being twins, 4.2% triplets, and 0.2% quadruplets or more.
When births were analyzed by order, 40.6% were first births, 30.4% were second births, 16.5% were third births and 11.9% were fourth births or higher.
