Helping Turkey to Collect and Assess Data for Development

What's the situation?

Turkey's population of 73.0 million (Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT) projection for 2005) is the largest of all of the countries which are seeking to join the European Union. Indeed, existing EU members, only Germany has a larger population.

But the dynamics of Turkey's population have changed considerably over the last 30 years and policy makers will need to put more emphasis on collecting, analysing and applying data and other information about population trends in order to plan and formulate the most appropriate programmes and policies to address them.

Migration from the countryside

Since the 1950s Turkey has seen a phenomenal rate of migration from the countryside to towns and cities . Currently 65 per cent of the population live in cities. A number of factors have contributed to this financial and employment difficulties during a series of economic crises, and security concerns, especially in the south-east of the country where there have been long years of fighting between the Turkish military and armed Kurdish separatists.

The movement of so many people to the cities has resulted in economic, social and environmental problems both for the city-dwellers already there, and for the more recent arrivals and their families. These problems are not yet adequately considered in decision-making, development planning and policy setting.

Turkey's population growth rate peaked in the 1950s with 2.85 per cent and since then has declined to 1.8 per cent in the 1990s. Presently the rate is decreasing, but the next decade will still witness an increase in population.

Young people

Turkey particularly needs more comprehensive data about its youth .Forty-six per cent of the population of Turkey is younger than 24 but the national data available on young people's problems, health, attitudes and behaviour is very limited.

Although young people in Turkey have greater sexual freedom than previous generations they are also at greater risk of sexually transmitted infections , including HIV/AIDS . It is essential for policy makers and healthcare professionals to understand more about young people's attitudes and behaviour regarding sexual and reproductive health in order to help them safeguard their own health.

An ageing population

The population of Turkey is also getting older. According to TURKSTAT projections, in 2006 6 per cent of the population was aged 65 or older and this age-group is growing. The average life expectancy is now 71.5

This "ageing" of the population has happened because the total fertility rate has been decreasing and the life expectancy at birth is increasing resulting in a higher proportion of elderly people in the total population. In this way, Turkish population structure is becoming similar to that of most developed European countries. The elderly, particularly those living in rural areas, are among the poorest and most vulnerable groups, especially in developing countries. Ageing of the population will therefore be an important challenge for the Turkish government.