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Demographics
Demographics of the Republic of Turkey
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1961-2005
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Size:
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70,413,958
(2006 est.)
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Growth:
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1.06% (2006 est.)
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Birth:
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16.62 births/1,000
population (2006 est.)
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Death:
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5.97 deaths/1,000
population (2006 est.)
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Life expectancy:
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72.62 years (2006 est.)
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Life expectancy (m):
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70.18 years
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Life expectancy (f):
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75.18 years
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Fertility:
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1.92 children born/woman (2006 est.)
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Age Structure:
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0-14 years:
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25.5% (male 9,133,226; female 8,800,070)
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15-64 years:
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67.7% (male 24,218,277; female 23,456,761)
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65-0ver years:
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6.8% (male 2,198,073; female 2,607,551) (2006 est.)
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Sex Ratio:
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Total:
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{{{total_mf_ratio}}}
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At
birth:
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1.05 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
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Under 15 years:
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1.04 male(s)/female
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15-64 years:
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1.03 male(s)/female
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65-0ver years:
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0.84 male(s)/female
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Nationality:
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nationality:
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noun: Turk(s) adjective: Turkish
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Major ethnic:
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Turks
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Language:
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Official:
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Turkish
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The legal use of term "Turkish" (a citizen of Turkey) is different than the
ethnic definition (an ethnic Turk). However, the majority of the Turkish
population are of Turkish ethnicity. The ethnic minorities include, besides the
legally defined minorities, Abkhazians, Albanians, Arabs, Bosniaks, Chechens,
Circassians, Georgians, Ingushetians, Kabardins, Kurds, Laz, Molokans and Zazas.
The term "minority" itself remains a sensitive issue in Turkey, since the
Turkish State only considers the communities mentioned in the text of Treaty of
Lausanne. Minorities include Armenians, Bulgarians, Greeks, Hamshenis, Jews,
Levantines, Ossetians, Pomaks and Roma (Roma is a name for Gypsies).
The largest group of non-Turkic ethnicity are the Kurds, a distinct ethnic group
concentrated in the southeast. The 1965 census determined that 7.1% of the
population used Kurdish as their primary language and the knowledge of the
language was stated by the 12.7% of the population in total, but there are many
Turkish-speaking Kurds. According to the CIA fact book [1], 20% of
the population are estimated to be ethnic Kurds. However, there are no hard
figures for the Kurdish population available.
Due to a demand for an increased labour force in Western Europe between 1960 and
1980 many Turkish citizens, emigrated to West Germany, the Netherlands, France
and other Western European countries, forming a significant overseas population.
Education
Education is compulsory and free from ages 7 to 15. There are around 820 higher
education institutes including universities, with a total student enrollment of
over 1 million. The 15 main universities are in Istanbul and Ankara. Tertiary
education is the responsibility of the Higher Education Council, and funding is
provided by the state. From 1998 the universities were given greater autonomy,
and were encouraged to raise funds from partnerships with industry.
There are approximately 85 universities in Turkey. There are two types of
universities, state and (private) foundational. State universities charge very
low fees and foundationals are highly expensive with fees up to $15 000 or
sometimes even more. The capacity in total of Turkish universities is
approximately 300.000. Some universities can compete with the best world
universities whereas some are unable to provide the necessary educational
standards due to financial problems and underfunding. However, university
students are a lucky minority in Turkey. Universities provide either two or four
years of education for undergraduate studies. For graduate studies, two further
years is necessary, as is typical throughout the world.
The Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey coordinates basic and
applied research and development. There are 64 research institutes and
organisations. R&D strengths include agriculture, forestry, health,
biotechnology, nuclear technologies, minerals, materials, IT, and defence.
Culture
Turkey has a very diverse culture derived from various elements of the Ottoman
Empire, European, and the Islamic traditions. As Turkey successfully transformed
from the religion-driven former Ottoman Empire into a modern nation-state with a
very strong separation of state and religion, the increase in the methods of
artistic expression followed. During the first years of the republic, the
government invested a large amount of resources into the fine arts, such as
paintings, sculptures and architecture amongst other things. This was done as
both a process of modernisation and of creating a cultural identity. Today the
Turkish economy is diverse enough to subsidise individual artists with great
freedom.
Because of different historical factors playing an important role in defining a
Turkish identity, the culture of Turkey is an interesting combination of clear
efforts to be "modern" and Western, combined with the necessity felt to maintain
traditional religious and historical values.
Religion
Nominally, 99% of the population is Muslim. Most belong to the Sunni branch of
Islam. About 15-20% of the population are Alevi Muslims. There is also a small
but significant Twelver Shi'a minority, mainly of Azeri descent. The remaining
1% of the population are of other religions, mostly Christian (Greek Orthodox,
Armenian Apostolic (Gregorian), Syriac Orthodox, Roman Catholics and
Protestants), Jewish, Bahá'ís, Yezidis.
The Blue Mosque (Sultanahmet Camii)
Unlike other Muslim-majority countries, there is a strong tradition of
separation of church and state in Turkey. Even though the state does not have
any/or promote any religion, it actively monitors the area between the
religions. The constitutional rule that prohibits discrimination on religious
grounds is taken very seriously. The Turkish constitution recognises freedom of
religion for individuals, and the religious communities are placed under the
protection of state, but the constitution explicitly states that they cannot
become involved in the political process, by forming a religious party for
example. No party can claim that it represents a form of religious belief.
However, the religious sensibilities are generally represented through
conservative parties.
The mainstream Hanafite school of Sunni Islam is largely organised by the state,
through Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı (Department of Religious Affairs). The Diyanet
is the main Islamic framework established after abolition of the Ulama and
Seyh-ul-Islam of the old régime. As a consequence, they control all mosques and
Muslim clerics. Imams are trained in Imam Hatip schools and at theology
departments at universities. The department supports Sunni Islam and has
commissions authorised to give Fatwa judgements on Islamic issues. The
department is criticized by some Alevi Muslims for not supporting their beliefs.
The Orthodox Patriarch (Patrik) governs the Greek-Orthodox Church in Turkey and
acts as the spiritual leader of all Orthodox churches throughout the world, the
Armenian Patrik the Armenian Church, while the Jewish community is lead by the
Hahambasi, Turkey's Chief Rabbi, all based in Istanbul. The Jewish population in
Turkey is one of the largest and most prominent outside of Israel. (See Jews of
Turkey for more)
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SOCIETY
