Turkey seemed immune to the decline in birth rates. Now its government is desperate because it does not know how to stop it

Turkey logged 895,374 births in 2025, the lowest in the available series, as total fertility fell to 1.42.

Birth rates have been declining since 2014 and now the drop is affecting most provinces, not just a few regions.

Turkey has stayed below replacement fertility for nine straight years, deepening concerns over population decline and future labor shortages.

The government, led by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Family Minister Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş, says the trend is a national survival issue despite pro-natal policies.