According to Address Based Population Registration System (ABPRS) results; while Türkiye population was 84 million 680 thousand 273 people by the end of 2021, 22 million 738 thousand 300 of it constituted by the child population. 51.3% of child population was boys and 48.7% was girls. While the child population, which includes 0-17 age group according to the definition of the United Nations, constituted 48.5% of the total population in 1970, this proportion was 41.8% in 1990 and 26.9% in 2021.

Proportion of Türkiye child population was higher than that of the EU member countries

When the proportions of child population of 27 European Union (EU) member countries were analyzed, the EU average of the proportion of child population was 18.2% in 2021. Among the EU member countries, the countries with the highest proportion of child population were Ireland with 23.9%, France with 21.5%, Sweden with 21.1%, respectively. The countries with the lowest proportion of child population were Italy with 15.8%, Malta with 15.9%, Portugal and Germany with 16.5%, respectively. It was seen that the proportion of Türkiye child population with 26.9% was higher than that of the EU member countries.

The province with the highest proportion of child population was Şanlıurfa

According to ABPRS results; when the proportion of child population in the total population was analyzed by provinces, the province with the highest proportion of child population was Şanlıurfa with 45.2% in 2021. Şanlıurfa was followed by Şırnak with 42.3% and Ağrı with 40.1%.

The province with the lowest proportion of child population was Tunceli with 17.3%. Tunceli was followed by Edirne with 17.8% and Kırklareli with 18.4%.

In Türkiye, the proportion of households with at least one child in the 0-17 age group was 45.3%

According to ABPRS results, the total number of households in 2021 was 25 million 329 thousand 833. It was seen that the proportion of households with at least one child in the 0-17 age group was 45.3%. When the distribution of these households is examined by provinces, it was seen that the province with the highest proportion of households with at least one child in the 0-17 age group was Şanlıurfa with 71.6% and the provinces with the lowest proportion were Sinop and Tunceli with 30.0%.

It was seen that 19.1% of total households had one child in the 0-17 age group, 15.8% of them had two children, 6.7% of them had three children, 2.3% of them had four children, 1.5% of them had five and more children.

It was seen that 29.1% of the child population was in the 5-9 age group in 2021

When the child population was examined by age group, while 28.2% of the child population was in the 0-4 age group, 27.7% in the 5-9 age group, 26.8% in the 10-14 age group and 17.3% in the 15-17 age group in 2016, 26.0% was in the 0-4 age group, 29.1% was in the 5-9 age group, 28.3% was in the 10-14 age group and 16.5% in the 15-17 age group in 2021.

The number of babies born alive was 1 million 112 thousand 859 in 2020

According to birth statistics; the number of babies born alive in 2020 was 1 million 112 thousand 859. 570 thousand 892 of them were boys, and 541 thousand 967 of them were girls. 97.1% of the babies born alive were single births, 2.9% were twins, and 0.1% were triplets or more.

According to the data of the Ministry of Health; while the proportion of births in hospitals was 91.6% in 2010, it was 98.0% in 2020.

The most popular names given to babies were Yusuf for boys and Zeynep for girls

According to the results of ABPRS, the most popular names given to newborn baby boys were Yusuf, Alparslan and Miraç, the most popular girl names were Zeynep, Elif and Asel in 2021. It was seen that 7 thousand 88 of the newborn boys were named Yusuf, 6 thousand 218 of them were named Alparslan, 5 thousand 698 of them were named Miraç; 10 thousand 63 of the newborn girls were named Zeynep, 6 thousand 448 of them were named Elif, 6 thousand 432 of them were named Asel.

In Türkiye, it was seen that the most popular boy names were Yusuf, Mustafa and Mehmet, the most popular girl names were Zeynep, Elif and Yağmur for the children in 0-17 age group in 2021.

Child dependency ratio was 33.0% in 2021

Total age dependency ratio is defined as the total number of persons at 0-14 and persons at 65 and over age groups per 100 persons at 15-64 age group in working age. According to the results of ABPRS, total age dependency ratio was 47.4% in 2021. The child dependency ratio means that the number of children at the 0-14 age group per 100 persons at 15-64 age group was 33.0%.

Net enrollment rate of five-year-olds was 56.9%

According to the formal education statistics of the Ministry of National Education; while the net enrollment rate of five-year-olds was 71.2% in the 2019/'20 educational year, it was 56.9% in the 2020/'21 educational year. When the net enrolment rate of five-year-olds was analyzed by sex, this rate was 57.4% for boys and 56.3% for girls.

Net enrollment rate at primary school level was 93.2%, net enrolment rate at lower secondary school level was 88.9% and net enrollment rate at upper secondary school level was 87.9% in the 2020/21 educational year.

School completion rates at levels of education increased

According to the National Education Statistics Database results; when school completion rates by levels of education and sex were examined, an increase was observed over the years. While primary school completion rate was 98.0% in the 2015/'16 educational year, it was 98.6% in the 2020/'21 educational year. While lower secondary school completion rate was 93.7% in the 2015/'16 educational year, it was 97.1% in the 2020/'21 educational year. Upper secondary education completion rate was increased from 59.7% to 73.2%.

When upper secondary education completion rate was analyzed by sex, it was seen that upper secondary education completion rate was 70.5% for boys and 76.0% for girls in the 2020/'21 educational year.

Internet usage rate of children was 82.7% in 2021

According to survey on information and communication technology usage by children results; while the Internet usage rate was 50.8% in 2013 for children aged 6-15, it became 82.7% in 2021. When Internet usage was analyzed by sex; it was seen that Internet usage rate of boys increased to 83.9% in 2021, which was 53.7% in 2013, and Internet usage rate of girls increased to 81.5% in 2021, which was 47.8% in 2013.

Participating in online classes ranked first among Internet usage purposes with 86.2%

According to survey on information and communication technology usage by children results; in the activities carried out through the Internet by children aged 6-15 using the Internet regularly, participation in online classes with 86.2% took the first place, while using the Internet for homework or learning with 83.6% took the second place in 2021. This was followed by playing or downloading game with 66.1%, watching videos from sharing sites with 61.0%, making calls (including video calls) over the Internet with 55.5%. The least activity of children on the Internet was online shopping with 9.1%.

It was seen that 31.3% of children using the Internet regularly used Internet for social media. It was seen that social media usage was on average of 2 hours 54 minutes a day for weekdays and 2 hours 44 minutes a day for weekends.

The proportion of playing digital games for boys was 46.1%

While 36.0% of the children in the 6-15 age group played digital games, this proportion was 32.7% in the 6-10 age group and 39.4% in the 11-15 age group. When the proportion of playing digital games was analyzed by age group and sex; while the proportion of playing digital games for boys in the 6-15 age group was 46.1%, the proportion of playing digital games was 25.4% for girls. This proportion was 38.7% for boys and 26.4% for girls in the 6-10 age group, and 53.7% for boys and 24.4% for girls in the 11-15 age group.

Digital gaming time was longer for boys

It was seen that 94.7% of children in the 6-15 age group who stated that they play digital games regularly play digital games almost every day or at least once a week. When the children in the 6-15 age group who stated that they play digital games were analyzed by sex, it was seen that 96.2% of the boys and 91.8% of the girls played digital games regularly.

While the average daily playing time of the boys in the 6-15 age group, who stated that they regularly play digital games, was 3 hours 2 minutes on weekdays, it was 2 hours 59 minutes on weekends. For girls, this time was 2 hours 18 minutes on weekdays and 2 hours 11 minutes on weekends.

The most played type of digital game was war game

54.3% of the children playing digital games regularly in the 6-15 age group stated that they played war games. This was followed by adventure/action with 52.0%, strategy with 41.8%, simulation with 27.5%, sports with 26.5%, and role playing games with 19.1%.

When the types of digital games played by children who stated that they played digital games regularly were examined by sex, it was seen that the most played type of game by boys in the 6-15 age group was war games with 68.4%, while girls played adventure/action games with 44.3%.

Legal child marriages for girls decreased

According to marriage statistics; while the proportion of legal child marriages for girls aged 16-17 within the total legal marriages was 7.3% in 2002, it decreased to 2.3% in 2021. On the other hand, while the proportion of legal child marriages for boys at the same ages in the total legal marriages was 0.5% in 2002, it was 0.1% in 2021.

The labor force participation rate for children at the age group of 15-17 was 16.4%

According to the results of Household Labor Force Survey 2021, the labor force participation rate at the age group of 15-17 was 16.4%. When the labor force participation rate was analyzed by sex, it was seen that this rate was 22.9% for boys, and 9.5% for girls.

The number of children whose fathers died was 272 thousand 361

According to the results of ABPRS; it was seen that the number of children whose fathers died was 272 thousand 361, the number of children whose mothers died was 82 thousand 968, the number of children whose parents died was 4 thousand 451 within total 22 million 738 thousand 300 children in 2021.

The number of children who were cared for by foster families was 8 thousand 459

According to the data of the Ministry of Family and Social Services; it was seen that the number of children in institutional care was 13 thousand 302 in Türkiye in 2021. The number of foster families in total was 6 thousand 978, and the number of children with foster parents was 8 thousand 459. The number of adopted children was 495 in 2021.

The proportion of children given to mother's guardianship was 76.1%

According to divorce statistics, the number of couples divorced in 2021 was 174 thousand 85. As a result of the finalized divorce cases, 165 thousand 937 children were given custody. It was observed that 76.1% of the custody of the children was given to the mother, and 23.9% to the father.

Children constituted 8.8% of those who lost their lives as a result of traffic accidents

According to road traffic accident statistics; 15.3% of traffic accidents in 2020 resulted in death or injury. While a total of 4 thousand 866 people lost their lives in these accidents, 430 of them were children. When the children who died by age group were examined, it was seen that 46.0% of the children who died were in the 0-9 age group, 25.1% were in the 10-14 age group and 28.8% were in the 15-17 age group. (ILKHA)