The Turkish Statistical Institute (Turkstat) has released the 2024 child population statistics, offering a detailed overview of the demographic composition of Türkiye's young population. According to the Address-Based Population Registration System (ADNKS), Türkiye's total population at the end of 2024 was 85,664,944, with 21,817,061 of them categorized as children aged 0-17.
The child population consists of 51.3% boys and 48.7% girls. This demographic represents a significant shift over the decades; in 1970, children made up 48.5% of the total population. By 1990, this figure had dropped to 41.8%, and in 2024, it stands at 25.5%. This decrease mirrors global trends of aging populations, with Türkiye’s child population rate significantly lower than the 41% in 1970. For comparison, the average child population rate in the 27 European Union (EU) member countries in 2024 is 17.8%.
When breaking down the child population by province, Şanlıurfa recorded the highest child population rate at 43.8%, followed by Şırnak at 39.8% and Ağrı at 37.4%. On the other hand, provinces such as Tunceli, with a rate of 16.4%, and Edirne and Kırklareli, with rates of 17.3% and 18%, respectively, had the lowest child population rates.
The report also reveals key insights into family structures. As of the end of 2024, Türkiye had 26,599,261 households, 42.8% of which had at least one child aged 0-17 years old. The highest percentage of households with children was found in Şanlıurfa (68.5%), while Tunceli had the lowest at 28.2%. Regarding family sizes, 19% of households had one child, 14.6% had two children, and 6% had three children, while 2% of households had four children and 1.1% had five or more children.
Birth statistics for 2023 show a total of 958,408 live births, with 491,361 boys and 467,047 girls. The vast majority (96.7%) of these births were single births, while 3.1% were twins and 0.1% were triplets or higher multiples.
Regarding life expectancy, the report highlighted that the life expectancy at birth in Türkiye is 77.3 years. For men, the life expectancy is 74.7 years, while for women, it is 80 years. Children who reach the age of 7 can expect to live an additional 71.3 years, with a slight difference between boys (68.7 years) and girls (73.9 years). For those who reach 15 years, the life expectancy rises to 63.5 years, with a 5.2-year gap between boys (60.9 years) and girls (66.1 years).
The most popular baby names in 2023 were Alparslan and Defne. Alparslan was given to 8,088 boys, while Defne was given to 7,466 girls. Other popular names included Göktuğ and Yusuf for boys and Asel and Zeynep for girls. For children aged 0-17, the most common names were Yusuf, Mustafa and Ömer for boys, and Zeynep, Elif and Ecrin for girls.
The Ministry of National Education's data shows that 85% of 5-year-olds were enrolled in preschool education during the 2022/23 academic year, with a slight decrease to 84.3% in 2023/24. Gender-wise, 84.5% of boys and 84% of girls were enrolled. The net enrollment rates for primary school, middle school, and high school were 95%, 91.5% and 88%, respectively.
