Istanbul's population declines for 2nd time

By Cuneyt Kemal Ozkok

The population of Istanbul posted a decline of 252,000 in 2023, the country's statistical authority said.

This is the second time the population trend has shown a fall. In 2020, the population fell by 57,000, TurkStat said.

Türkiye's population reached 85.3 million in 2023, increasing by 92,824 people compared to the previous year.

The population decreased in 10 provinces, with Istanbul showing the largest fall.

The population of the city was 15.9 million in 2022, while this number decreased to 15 million last year.

With 18.33% of the country's population residing in Istanbul, the city continued to rank first in population density with 3,013 people per square kilometer.

Istanbul's population was 700,000 in 1927, 1 million in 1950, 1.5 million in 1955, 4.5 million in 1980, 5.5 million in 1985, 11.1 million in 2000, and 13.2 million in 2010.

It was observed that Istanbul's population increased the most annually in 2019. That year, the population of the province increased by 451,543 people compared to the previous year. The year with the least population increase was recorded as 2018, with 38,493 people, according to records.