Author(s): Zafer BASKAYA, Fatma OZKILIC
The fertility rate in Turkey has been falling since the 1960s. What's more, the rate of fall in fertility slowed down in the 1980s. The tendency of fertility decline continues between 1980 and 2013. Fertility varies by provinces and regions. Social economic and cultural dynamics play a role in such variety. For example, fertility rate is high in the South-eastern and Eastern Anatolia Regions, which are underdeveloped economically and socially. The high fertility rate in these regions is also influenced by such factors as early age of first marriage and intense desire for having boys. On the other hand, fertility is low in Marmara and Aegean Regions, where social and economic development but also industrialization and education levels are high. In the latter case, influential factors could be listed as higher age of first marriage, participation in workforce, urbanization, migrations, and improvement of women's status within family. Besides; income level in fertility, industrialization, urbanization, internal migration, participation in workforce, unemployment, education and population policies account for the case. In general, fertility rates have a decreasing tendency in Turkey. Yet, the rates are high in Eastern and South-eastern Anatolia regions due to high fertility. In this study, the changes that occur in fertility among provinces and regions in Turkey social as well as social, economic and cultural factors affecting them were examined.
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