Demography of Turkey

Structure of the population

Birthrate

Mortality

Migration and cultural composition

Ethnic and religious composition

Turkey counts some 70 million inhabitants but not 70 million " Turcs" with the ethnic direction of the term. Being given that there does not exist ethnic or religious census and that the last linguistic census goes back to 1965, it is impossible to give precise figures as for the various minorities, this more especially as it is about a question politically very sensitive and thus prone to handling with an aim of propaganda on both sides.

History

Majority of the " Turks of origin turque" contemporaries are descendants of populations which lived on the spot before the arrival of the Turkish populations coming from Central Asia, which was at the beginning minority in Anatolia, in the same way that the Arab with the the Maghreb. As in the Maghreb, the Islamization of the populations was accompanied by the linguistic assimilation to the population politically and militarily dominant, the turcisation thus accompanied Islamization, especially in Anatolia Western and central, except " Anatolia orientale" ( Doĝu Anadolu ), which is besides the official name of Turkish Kurdistan and at one time populated areas of Armenians and other not-Turkish minorities, where would still live a few tens, even hundreds of thousands of Moslems arménophones (Hémichis, however converted since 17th and 19th centuries) and hellénophones (Moslem Pontiques), as well as Crypto-Christians.

During their history, the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Turkey accommodated on the whole million, of

Juifs séfarades after 1492 at the time of the Reconquista
taken refuge Polish and Hungarian after each insurrection (there still exists on the edge of the Bosphorus a Polish locality, Adampol , Polonezköy or Polonez Köy ), in particular that of 1848
Juifs ashkénazes fleeing the pogroms of Ukraine and Russia
Juifs as well ashkénazes as séfarades fleeing the anti-semitism in Europe then the Shoah (whereas the Allies drove back them of their territory)
Russian of dissenting churches or sects during the era tsarist
revolutionary Socialists or Communists, then trotskystes in the Moslem years 1930-1940
taken refuge (Muhadjir S) coming from areas at one time dominated by Moslem states and conquered by Christian states: Tatars, Circassiens and Tchétchènes of the Empire of Russia, partisans Algerian of Abdelkader, Sudanese Mahdistes, Turkmènes, Kazakh and other people of languages connected with Turkish in Central Asia, fleeing the USSR, then a few thousands of Afghan, and even of Kazakh and Ouïghours fleeing communist China. There is also more than one million Moslems of Balkans (Turks, Bosnians, Albanian, Pomaks, Greek Moslems etc) fleeing the new Christian capacities in 1920, then communist, until the end of the years 1980 in Yugoslavia and Bulgaria for example.

Aujourd'hui a considerable percentage of the Turkish population goes down from refugees come from Balkans, the Caucasus or other European areas. In the same way, part of the immigrants originating in Turkey in Western Europe are them-even resulting from these migrations, just like their Greek counterparts besides, among which many Micrasiates and Pontiques or their descendants.

Today

In addition to the important minority Kurdish (15 to 20 million people, spoken languages: Kurmandji, Turkish Zaza or ), contemporary Turkey counts minorities Arab S (along the Syrian border), géorgiennes (Géorgien - -, laze and adjar E) and " réfugiées" (Muhadjir: Turks and other Moslems in source so much of the Balkans - Albanian, Bosnian S, Pomaks, etc - that the Caucasus - Tcherkesse S, Tchétchène S etc -, Central Asia or of Eastern Africa).

There in addition remain a few thousands of (descendants of) survivors of the Othoman genocide of the Christian minorities, Armenian, Greek micrasiates and Pontiques, " Assyrian " (Catholic Syriaques orthodoxe or - Süryani -, Chaldéens - '' Keldani '' and Nestoriens - '' Nasturi '').

At the sides of these Christian minorities lived populations of the same origin but converted with Islam and which have escaped with the genocide, massacres and others " displacements of population" Othomans and Turkish. Their current numerical importance is impossible to estimate objectively, certain sources speak about several tens, even hundreds of thousands of Hémichis (Moslem of Armenian language ) and of Moslem Pontiques.

Among the intellectuals Turkish of the provinces of the Black Sea, there was these last years an renewed interest for the not-Turkish origins and not-Moslem women, so much of the families than of villages and whole areas where the generations which lived the genocides and four last decades ethnic massacres of the Ottoman Empire had preferred to occult this past. In testifies for example the encyclopedic Dictionary of the Black Sea, based on research of the journalist Özhan Öztürk, but also works of Ömer Asan (Moslem pontic) and of Selma Koçiva (Laze), and more recently (fifth on the list of the best sales in April 2005) the book My grandmother of the lawyer Fethiye Çetin, reporting the life of his/her grandmother born Armenian but orphan adopted by a Moslem family after the genocide.

At 19th and the 20th centuries, rumors frequently circulated, begun again by certain travellers, about the existence of hundreds of thousands of Crypto-Christians, especially in rural regions and the small towns. The Alévis in particular were regarded by certain Protestant missionaries as such, and there were projects of " reconversion". Survivors of the genocide of the Othoman Christians, benefitting from the introduction of a laic republic, would have been made pass for from Alévis in order to escaping the exactions. A more tangible fact is the survival of certain Jewish traditions, following the example those of the Marrane S, mainly among the Dönme (Sabbatéens), the descendants of the faithful Jews of the sect of Sabbataï Tsevi, which had proclaimed Messiah and who had to convert with Islam to avoid being carried out (the Othoman sultans supported orthodoxy against religious dissidences).

Situation of the religious minorities

On is the religious level, the majority of the population (at least nominally) Moslem sunnite, but Turkey also counts from 15 to 20 million Alévis (Moslem hétérodoxes either ethniquement and linguistically Kurdish, in particular Zaza S, or Turkish), as well as 500.000 to 1.500.000 Chiite S (often Azeri S), especially in the area of Igdir, near of the borders with the Arménie, the Azerbaïdjan (Nakhitchevan) and the Iran, and an unspecified number (100.000?) of Alaouites Arabic-speaking people or Turkish-speaking in the areas of Hatay (ex- Sandjak d' Alexandrette), Adana and Mersin (ex- Cilicie).

The observers can note that:

the religion ( DIN ) is indicated on the indentity card ( Nüfus Cuzdani ): Müslüman/Islam , Rum ortodoks , Ermeni , Hristyan , Süryani , Keldani , Nasturi , Musevi , Dönme ). In 2000-2001 there was some discussion either about removing purely and simply this mention or to authorize those which would wish it to leave it blank, but none of these options was retained (see e.a. Global Survey off Group Classification one National ID Cards)
Contrairement to quasi totality of the other Moslem countries, he is socially and juridically possible to be said atheistic ( dinsiz , " without religion") in Turkey, but the public schools comprise a course of Islamic religion sunnite in the general and obligatory course except for the pupils of the three recognized minorities (Greek orthodoxe, Armenian apostolic and Jewish). A relative alévi did not have win in justice by disputing the obligatory character of these courses (see International Religious Freedom Report 2005).
There exists a foundation (Waqf) religious official ( Türk Diyanet Vakfi ) which forms Imams and teachers of religion in specific vocational schools ( Imam hatip ) and sends some in its branches of them (directed by consular civils servant) throughout the world, where exist Turkish-speaking Muslim communities. However, there exists only a Diyanet for the Moslems sunnites, even if unquestionable Alévis recently asked for the creation of Diyanet alévie (see e.a. Reuters 1/1/2005). The requests for license to build for the temples alévis ( cem ) are regularly refused, those for Shiite mosques are accepted, but not financed by Diyanet (see International Religious Freedom Report 2005).
Seules three religious minorities are recognized officially, in accordance with the Traité of Lausanne of July 24th, 1923, and thus have the right to maintain schools specific: orthodoxe Greeks (under the aegis of the orthodoxe Church of Constantinople), apostolic Armenians (under the aegis of the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople) and Jews.
See also Turkish orthodoxe Church, Sabbatéens.

Other social indicators

References

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