Turkey’s Demography and Economic Geography: an Overview
Turkey’s Demography and Economic Geography: an Overview

Summary/Abstract: The political, economic and social implications of Turkey’s turbulent modernization process are well known. Unfortunately, the same does not hold true for the economic and social impacts of the demographic transition to a stable population. The processes affect the deployment production factors, thus reshaping the economic geography. This paper attempts to show that concerns related to Turkey’s alleged rapid population growth and anticipated massive labour mobility are, to a large extent, exaggerated (if not empirically unsubstantiated) and that in the coming decades, Turkey’s demographic characteristics are not going to be significantly different from those of its eventual European and East European partners. The presentation proceeds in four sections: The first section depicts the evolution of national population pyramids. The decline and inter-regional variation of the total fertility rate is taken up in the second section. The third section concentrates on the changing aspects of internal and international migration flows. Changes in the national economic landscape are depicted through dynamic Correspondence Maps, a new methodological tool borrowed from Thomas Müller Schneider. The conclusion takes up and depicts Turkey’s position in a demographic transition curve and the “window of economic and social opportunity” that lies ahead. This overview based on latest survey results would help us to avoid misunderstandings, sterile issues and to concentrate on problems relevant both for Turkey and EU.

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