This statistic shows the ten biggest cities in Turkey in 2021. At the end of 2021, approximately 15.2 million people lived in Istanbul, making it the biggest city in Turkey.

The urban population of Turkey

The total population of Turkey is on its way to reaching 80 million inhabitants, which is about the same amouint as the population of Germany. Slightly more than half of the Turkish population live in urban areas, with Istanbul being home to the largest portion of this urban population with close to 14 million inhabitants. This is about 20 percent of the entire population.

Istanbul is located at the entrance to the Black Sea, between Europe and Asia. It is attractive to both the people of Turkey as a place to live and work and foreign tourists who take advantage of its cultural and historic center. Due to its attractiveness and its location at the crossroads of the east and the west, the city has been investing in transportation infrastructure to support its strategic location and increasing growth.

Ankara, the capital of Turkey, is the second largest city and home to about 4.5 million people. Izmir is the third largest, with almost 3 million inhabitants. A vast amount of the country’s population is located in these three metropolises.

In 2023, the major city of Istanbul had almost 15.7 million inhabitants and was the province with the highest population in Turkey. The Turkish capital, Ankara, was the second-largest province, with 5.8 million people residing there in the same year. Characteristics of the Turkish population The population of Turkey has been following a continuously increasing trend for a long time. As of 2023, there were approximately 85.4 million people living in the country. That year, the male population was slightly higher than the female population, amounting to over 42.7 million. When it comes to the gender distribution among the age groups, the gender gap was the highest among the 90-year-olds and older. In 2023, women constituted 70 percent of that age group, whereas the share of men was slightly higher among 0-to-59-year-olds. Structure of the Turkish households The demand for living alone has been increasing in many communities. The case is not much different in Turkey, where the proportion of single households has been on the rise steadily. The share of households with one person peaked in 2023 at nearly 20 percent in the country. However, one-family households still registered the highest number of residents as of 2023, with roughly 16.7 million. In comparison, one-person households counted 5.2 million individuals.

Population in largest city in Turkey was reported at 16047350 in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Turkey - Population in largest city - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

Turkey TR: Population in Largest City data was reported at 14,556,884.000 Person in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 14,365,329.000 Person for 2016. Turkey TR: Population in Largest City data is updated yearly, averaging 6,188,484.500 Person from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 14,556,884.000 Person in 2017 and a record low of 1,453,353.000 Person in 1960. Turkey TR: Population in Largest City data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Turkey – Table TR.World Bank: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Population in largest city is the urban population living in the country's largest metropolitan area.; ; United Nations, World Urbanization Prospects.; ;

Population in the largest city (% of urban population) in Turkey was reported at 24.09 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Turkey - Population in the largest city - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

Chart and table of population level and growth rate for the Istanbul, Turkey metro area from 1950 to 2025.

Turkey TR: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data was reported at 24.244 % in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 24.452 % for 2016. Turkey TR: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data is updated yearly, averaging 21.399 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 25.077 % in 2011 and a record low of 16.786 % in 1960. Turkey TR: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Turkey – Table TR.World Bank: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Population in largest city is the percentage of a country's urban population living in that country's largest metropolitan area.; ; United Nations, World Urbanization Prospects.; Weighted Average;

As of January 31, 2021, the population of Turkey was almost 85 million. Istanbul had the highest number of residents, with roundabout 16 million comprising 19 percent of the whole population. The second most populated city was Ankara, the capital of Turkey, which had nearly six million residents. In 2021, there were 24 cities in Turkey with a population of over one million.

İstanbul was by far the most populated city in Turkey in 2023, with almost 15.7 million inhabitants. The capital city of Turkey, Ankara became the second most populated settlement, reaching a population of 5.8 million.

This bar chart displays population (people) by capital city using the aggregation sum in Turkey. The data is about countries per year.

Chart and table of population level and growth rate for the Batman, Turkey metro area from 1950 to 2025.

This dataset is about cities in Turkey. It has 262 rows. It features 7 columns including country, population, latitude, and longitude.

Chart and table of population level and growth rate for the Van, Turkey metro area from 1950 to 2025.

This horizontal bar chart displays rural population (people) by capital city using the aggregation sum in Turkey. The data is about countries per year.

The population of Istanbul increased steadily from 2007 to 2022. During this period, the population of Istanbul went up by over ************* people, rising from **** million people in 2007 to **** million in 2022. Istanbul by far the most crowded city Turkey has a dynamic population that increases every year. Even though the population growth rate has decreased in recent years, it has always shown positive values. With a population reaching ** million, the most crowded Turkish city, Istanbul has more inhabitants than many European countries such as Austria, Greece, Bulgaria, and Belgium. Additionally, Ankara was the second most settled city in the country. The capital city of Turkey had a population of almost ********* of Istanbul’s, totaling *** million. Turkish women live longer than men In Turkey, the population has been tracked digitally by the Address Based Population Registration System (ABPRS) every year. The total population hit over ** million as of 2023, of whom above **** million were women. Considering the gender distribution, ***** percent of the country’s residents consisted of men. Interestingly, the share of women in Turkish society was significantly higher than men among the older age groups in 2022.

This bar chart displays male population (people) by capital city using the aggregation sum in Turkey. The data is about countries per year.

This horizontal bar chart displays female population (people) by capital city using the aggregation sum in Turkey. The data is about countries per year.

Chart and table of population level and growth rate for the Ankara, Turkey metro area from 1950 to 2025.

As of April 21, 2022, the Turkish city with the highest Syrian refugee population was Istanbul, with over half a million. Gaziantep, Hatay, and Şanlıurfa were the cities hosting over 400 thousand Syrian refugees. Additionally, the city with the highest rate of Syrians compared to the local population was Kilis, with 42.4 percent.

The share of urban population in Turkey saw no significant changes in 2023 in comparison to the previous year 2022 and remained at around 77.46 percent. Nevertheless, 2023 still represents a peak in the share in Turkey. A country's urbanization rate refers to the share of the total population living in an urban setting. International comparisons of urbanization rates may be inconsistent, due to discrepancies between definitions of what constitutes an urban center (based on population size, area, or space between dwellings, among others).Find more key insights for the share of urban population in countries like North Macedonia and Montenegro.