World Population Day, 2018

11th July 1987, which was the day when the world’s population reached 5 billion, was accepted as the “World Population Day” by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 1989. On this special day, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) selects a theme which addresses important issues of the population and works to raise awareness on this theme. This year, it was decided to emphasize the last year’s theme of “family planning”.

In this context, this news release presents basic information on birth and marriage statistics for our country.

While the number of live births was 1 million 311 thousand 895 in 2016, it was 1 million 291 thousand 55 in 2017. 51.3% of live born babies were boys and 48.7% were girls. 17.9% of the babies were born in İstanbul, 5.8% in Ankara, 5% in Şanlıurfa and 4.1% in İzmir.

Total fertility rate means that the average number of live births that a woman would have under the assumption that she survived to the end of her reproductive life which is 15-49 age group and had a child according to a given age specific fertility rate. While the total fertility rate was 2.11 children in 2016, this rate was 2.07 children in 2017. This showed that fertility remained below the population’s replacement level of 2.10.

In 2017, the province having the highest total fertility rate was Şanlıurfa with 4.29 children. Şanlıurfa was followed by Şırnak with 3.72 children, Ağrı with 3.60 children and Muş with 3.39 children. The province having the lowest total fertility rate was Gümüşhane with 1.31 children. Gümüşhane was followed by Bartın with 1.45 children, Edirne with 1.46 children and Zonguldak with 1.48 children.

Age specific fertility rate means that the average number of live births per thousand women in a certain age group.

When the fertility rate was analyzed by age group, it was seen that the highest age specific fertility rate was in 25-29 age group. While the age specific fertility rate in this age group was 129 per thousand in 2012, this rate was 132 per thousand in 2017. In other words, the number of live births was 132 per thousand women in 25-29 age group in 2017.

Crude birth rate means that the number of live births per thousand population. While the crude birth rate was 16.5 per thousand in 2016, this rate was 16.1 per thousand in 2017. It means that while the number of live births was 16.5 per thousand population in 2016, the number of live births was 16.1 per thousand population in 2017.

When the crude birth rate was analyzed by provinces, the province having the highest crude birth rate in 2017 was Şanlıurfa with 32.7 per thousand. Şanlıurfa was followed by Şırnak with 27.9 per thousand, Ağrı with 27.8 per thousand and Muş with 27.1 per thousand. The province having the lowest crude birth rate was Edirne with 9.8 per thousand. Edirne was followed by Kastamonu and Bartın with 9.9 per thousand, Giresun with 10 per thousand and Gümüşhane with 10.1 per thousand.

According to the marriage statistics, while the proportion of legal child marriages for girls aged 16-17 within the total legal marriages was 4.6% in 2016, it declined to 4.2% in 2017.

In province-based analyzes in 2017, the province with the highest proportion of child marriages for girls was Ağrı with 16.6%. This province was followed by Muş with 16.1% and Bitlis with 12.3%. The three provinces with the lowest proportion of child marriages for girls within total marriages were Tunceli with 0.4%, Rize with 1.1% and Trabzon with 1.4%, respectively.

The age at first marriage has a major impact on childbearing because women who marry early will have, on average, a longer period of exposure to pregnancy, which in turn often leads to a higher number of lifetime births. Mean age at first marriage for females was 24.1 in 2013 and 24.6 in 2017.

Adolescent fertility rate means that the average number of live births per thousand women in 15-19 age group. Since teenage mothers are more likely to experience adverse pregnancy outcomes and maternity-related mortality than more mature women, adolescent fertility is a very important issue for maternal and child health care.

While the adolescent fertility rate was 31 per thousand in 2012, this rate decreased to 21 per thousand in 2017. In other words, the number of live births was 21 per thousand women in 15-19 age group in 2017.

According to the data obtained from administrative records, 1.6% of women who gave birth in 2017 delivered multiple births, 97.7% of these women gave twin births, 2.3% gave triplet births, and 0.1% gave quadruplet and more births.

When the order of the births in 2017 was analyzed, it was seen that 37.3% of these births were first, 31.8% were second, 18.2% were third, and 12.7% were fourth and above births.

In our country, the average age of women who gave birth was 28.7 in 2017, while it was 28.6 in 2016.

On the other hand, mother’s mean age at first birth was 26 in 2017 while it was 25.8 in 2016. Mother’s age at first birth is an important determinant of the overall level of fertility since early childbearing generally leads to a larger family size compared to later onset of childbearing.

According to Ministry of Health data, while the proportion of births with cesarean section was 51% in 2014, it was 53% in 2015 and 2016.

According to Statistical Regions (SR) Level 1, the region with the highest proportion of cesarean section was in TR6 Mediterranean (Antalya, Isparta, Burdur, Adana, Mersin, Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, Osmaniye) with 66% and the region with the lowest proportion of cesarean section was in TRA Northeast Anatolia (Erzurum, Erzincan, Bayburt, Ağrı, Kars, Iğdır, Ardahan) with 34% in 2016.

According to the results of Address Based Population Registration System, in Turkey, the average household size showed a tendency to decrease. It declined from 3.7 persons in 2012 to 3.4 in 2017.

When it was analyzed by provinces, the province with the highest average size of households was Şırnak with 6.4 persons in 2017. Şırnak was followed by Hakkari and Şanlıurfa with 5.7 and Batman with 5.6 persons. The provinces with the lowest average size of households were Çanakkale, Eskişehir and Tunceli with 2.7 persons. These provinces were followed by Balıkesir, Edirne, Burdur, Sinop and Çankırı with 2.8 persons.