According to Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) projections, Turkey's population will increase by approximately 17 million, reaching 100 million in 20 years.

According to data collected from TurkStat projections by Anadolu Agency (AA), Turkey's population, 81,867,223 last year, is expected to reach 82,886,421 this year and 99,754,923 in 2040. The current population of 20 European Union member countries is under 17 million.

It is predicted that Turkey's population will rise to 100,331,233 in 2040 – about 50.62 million men and 50.27 million women. The population of the country will be around 107.95 million in 2060 and 107.1 million in 2080.

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) marks July 11 as World Population Day since the world's population boiled over 5 billion on July 11, 1987. The theme of World Population Day this year is "reproductive health, women's empowerment and gender equality are the pathway to sustainable development," recognized at the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development.

Fertility rate still on decline

The fertility rate, the average number of children a woman aged 15 to 49 can give birth to, was 1.99 in Turkey last year. Thus, fertility remains below 2.10, the population renewal level. The downward tendency in fertility is expected to continue in the future and be 1.85 in 2050.

The average age of women who gave birth in Turkey was 28.9 last year. According to the 1950-2020 estimates made by the U.N., the average maternal age at birth, which was 29 in the 1965-1970 period, will be 28.1 in the 2015-2020 period. Life expectancy at birth was 78 in 2017, and it is expected that this figure will rise to 79.6 in 2025. In general, women live longer than men. Average life expectancy will increase from 75.3 years to 77 for men and from 80.7 to 82.2 for women as of the dates in question.

India to be the most crowded

According to the U.N.'s "World Population Prospects" report, the world population, which was 300 million, 2,000 years ago and 7.7 billion last year, is expected to rise to 9.7 billion in 2050 and to 11 billion by the end of the century.

It indicates that nine countries, including India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Egypt and the U.S., are effective in the projected increase in the world population. The population of China, the largest country in terms of population, is expected to decrease by 2.2 percent in 2050.

The report indicates that the population of India will eventually surpass China. These two countries currently have 35 percent of the world's population. While 1.43 billion people live in China, India's population reached 1.37 billion.

The report also indicates that the population of Sub-Saharan Africa will double by 2050. The downward tendency in fertility is expected to continue around the world. The number of births per woman, which declined to 2.5 as of last year, is expected to decrease by 2.2 in 2050. The average life expectancy, which is still 72.6 years, is estimated to increase to 77.1 in 2050.