• Province based population (number of people) and population density (number of people per square kilometre)

    6 - 57 58 - 113 114 - 199 200 - 443 444 - 2622
    3.600.000 1990 Census Change from 1990 to 2000 Change from 2000 to 2011

Quality of Life

The Turkish population is highly concentrated in certain regions. In general the coastal areas of Turkey are more populated than the interior lands. A large portion of the population lives in Istanbul and nearby cities. Izmir, Ankara, Bursa and Adana are also among cities with a high population concentration.

Regionalization increases the vulnerability to natural disasters whether they are related to climate change or not. The largest cities of Turkey, including Istanbul, have experienced the adverse effects of the severe drought conditions in 2007-2008.

Droughts and heat waves are the two most important climate related hazards that could negatively affect urban life in the future. Furthermore, downpours caused by excess heating of the surface could threaten urban life by causing urban floods. However, there might be positive effects of climate change to human life in the future as well. The projections indicate that the Mediterranean climate will prevail in more areas of Turkey including Istanbul. Such changes may appear favorable; however the exposure to higher temperatures in the summer may create uncomfortable conditions for the elderly, children, and those with health problems. In the regions where both temperature and rainfall increase, the outbreaks of some diseases (e.g. malaria and sandfly epidemics) may also increase.