Population Policies in Turkey and Demographic Changes on a Social Map

Abstract

Compared to its past structure, Turkey is now a country with low levels of fertility and mortality. This junction that Turkey now has reached is associated with a number of risks, such as an ageing population, and a decreasing working-age population. The antinatalist policy era of Turkey was followed by a period of maintenance, yet the recent demographic changes formed the basis of a pronatalist population policy from the government’s view. This study discusses the link between demographic change and population policies in Turkey. It further aims to position Turkey spatially in relation to selected countries that are in various stages of their demographic transitions with different population policies, using a multidimensional scaling approach with data on 25 selected countries from the UN. The analysis is based on a 34-year period, 1975-2009, so as to better demonstrate Turkey’s international position on a social map, past and present. Our findings suggest that Turkey’s position on the social map shifted towards developed countries over time in terms of demographic indicators and population policies.

Application of a breakpoint model to population growth in Türkiye

“…Population policies of Türkiye may be analyzed in two periods; the pronatalist period from 1923 -1960 and antinatalist periods from 1960 to 2000 (Yüksel, 2015;Yüceşahin, Adalı, and Türkyılmaz, 2016). In the middle of 1950s, population policy has been questioned as a result of the fast and not planned urbanization, illegal and harmful to health abortions, as well as lack of public investment for the new cohorts.…”

“…Thus, the beginning of the 1960s is accepted as the breaking point for policy change. The 1960s indicate the beginning of the "planned era" in Türkiye, where 5-year development plans have been preparing to assess the current social, economic, and demographic situations and put related goals (Yüceşahin, Adalı, and Türkyılmaz, 2016). Afterward, almost all consequently 5-year development plans between 1965 and 2007 (total eight) are engaged with the population and development relationship and have been indicating the need for controlling the POPG (Yüksel, 2015).…”

“…Afterward, almost all consequently 5-year development plans between 1965 and 2007 (total eight) are engaged with the population and development relationship and have been indicating the need for controlling the POPG (Yüksel, 2015). As Yüceşahin, Adalı, and Türkyılmaz (2016) emphasize, as from 2008 onward, a new-third pronatalist policy period came into the Turkish scene. A first sign of a new pronatalist policy was given in 2008 by the then-prime minister and current president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan proposing that families should have at least three children (Yüceşahin, Adalı, and Türkyılmaz, 2016).…”

Fertility characteristics of a province in eastern Turkey

“…However, in general, fertility is still high in places where women generally do not participate in labor, where women's and men's level of education and income are low, where women and children are perceived with traditional value judgments, and where family planning methods are hard to reach [10]. As in Turkey, in societies where women are disadvantaged compared to men in terms of their legal, social, and economic status, policies that empower women to have greater control over their own health, indirectly lowering fertility, are more likely to be met with resistance [20]. Similarly, in TNSA 2013 data, it is stated that women in rural areas in each age group give birth to more children compared to those in urban areas [11].…”

Demographic gaps between Syrian and the European populations: What do they suggest?

“…Being concerned of the impact of population movements on demographic transition, many developed and developing countries have altered their population policies from anti-natalist to pronatalist perspectives. More specifically, many developed countries have been applied a controlled or selective immigration policy within a pronatalist perspective (Yüceşahin et al, 2016). Pro-natalist policies promote fertility to ensure population growth.…”