1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · May 17
Turkey’s fertility rate has kept falling for more than a decade and now sits well below the 2.1 replacement level, undercutting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s repeated calls for families to have three, four or even five children.
23 years of pro-natalist rhetoric have not reversed the trend because demographers point instead to urbanization, changing lifestyles and rising education levels, especially among women.
High inflation and low wages have added a sharper economic brake, leaving many households struggling to afford housing, child care and other basics needed to raise larger families.
The decline challenges Erdogan’s vision of traditional households with stay-at-home mothers and signals that economic and social shifts are outweighing government pressure to boost births.
Amid a new economic crisis, can Erdogan's government persuade Turks to have more children?
As its population shrinks, is Turkey's dream of being a regional superpower at risk?