Dramatic demographic changes loom for Turkey, experts warn
Turkey’s demographic fabric is expected to change dramatically in the coming decades, driven by a combination of factors, including the influx of migrants with high birth rates and Turkey’s own economic and political woes.
ISTANBUL, Turkey — Although Turkey is no stranger to migration, unprecedented demographic changes are in store for the country in the coming years, experts say. This is not only because the number of incoming migrants is on the rise, but also because Turkey faces simultaneous problems of brain drain and economic instability.
Located between Europe and Asia and bordering eight countries, Turkey has a citizenry of nearly 81 million, Europe’s third largest. Though its population growth rate has fallen drastically from 1.31% in 2009 to 0.52% in 2017, the number of people under Ankara’s wings is on the rise.
Some 395 Syrian babies are born each day in Turkey, said professor Murat Erdogan, head of the Migration and Integration Studies Center at the Turkish-German University in Istanbul, explaining how prominently refugees bear on the demographic equation. “In 10 years, Turkey’s demographics will be in the hands of the Syrians,” he told Al-Monitor.
“There are 3.5 million registered Syrian refugees but the real number is higher than that. There are also around 1,000 Afghan and Iraqi refugees [illegally] crossing to Turkey from the southeast daily,” Erdogan said, adding that border control is still not thorough.
