Editing Demographics of Turkey (section)

== Ethnicity ==
{{See also|Minorities in Turkey}}
Modern Turkey was founded by [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]] as [[Secularism in Turkey|secular]] (''Laiklik'', Turkish adaptation of [[Secularism in France|French ''Laïcité'']]), i.e. without a [[state religion]], or separate ethnic divisions/ identities. The concept of "minorities" has only been accepted by the Republic of Turkey as defined by the [[Treaty of Lausanne (1923)]] and thence strictly limited to [[Greeks in Turkey|Greeks]], [[History of the Jews in Turkey|Jews]] and [[Armenians in Turkey|Armenians]], only based on religious affiliation, excluding from the scope of the concept the ethnic identities of these minorities as of others such as the Kurds who make up 15% of the country; others include Assyrians of various Christian denominations, Alevis and all the others.<ref name=Kaya2015>{{Cite journal |last=Kaya |first=Nurcan |date=2015-11-24 |title=Teaching in and Studying Minority Languages in Turkey: A Brief Overview of Current Issues and Minority Schools |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/ymio/12/1/article-p315_13.xml |journal=European Yearbook of Minority Issues Online |language=en |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=315–338 |doi=10.1163/9789004306134_013 |issn=2211-6117|quote=Turkey is a nation–state built on remnants of the Ottoman Empire where non-Muslim minorities were guaranteed the right to set up educational institutions; however, since its establishment, it has officially recognised only Armenians, Greeks and Jews as minorities and guaranteed them the right to manage educational institutions as enshrined in the Treaty of Lausanne. [...] Private language teaching courses teach ‘traditionally used languages’, elective language courses have been introduced in public schools and universities are allowed to teach minority languages.}}</ref><ref name=Toktas2006>{{Cite journal |last=Toktas |first=Sule |date=2006 |title=EU enlargement conditions and minority protection : a reflection on Turkey's non-Muslim minorities |url=https://cadmus.eui.eu/handle/1814/42732 |journal=East European Quarterly |language=en |volume=40 |pages=489–519 |issn=0012-8449|quote=Turkey signed the Covenant on 15 August 2000 and ratified it on 23 September 2003. However, Turkey put a reservation on Article 27 of the Covenant which limited the scope of the right of ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practice their own religion or to use their own language. This reservation provides that this right will be implemented and applied in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Turkish Constitution and the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne. This implies that Turkey grants educational right in minority languages only to the recognized minorities covered by the Lausanne who are the Armenians, Greeks and the Jews.}}</ref><ref name="Bayır2013">{{Cite book |last=Bayır |first=Derya |title=Minorities and nationalism in Turkish law |date=2013 |publisher=Ashgate |isbn=978-1-4094-7254-4 |series=Cultural diversity and law |location=Farnham|url=https://www.academia.edu/37557239| quote=Oran farther points out that the rights set out for the four categories are stated to be the ‘fundamental law’ of the land, so that no legislation or official action shall conflict or interfere with these stipulations or prevail over them (article 37). [...] According to the Turkish state, only Greek, Armenian and Jewish non-Muslims were granted minority protection by the Lausanne Treaty. [...] Except for non-Muslim populations – that is, Greeks, Jews and Armenians - none of the other minority groups’ language rights have been ''de jure'' protected by the legal system in Turkey. |pages=88–90, 203–204}}</ref><ref name=Phillips2020>{{Cite journal |last=Phillips |first=Thomas James |date=2020-12-16 |title=The (In-)Validity of Turkey's Reservation to Article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights |url=https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/10249/ |journal=International Journal on Minority and Group Rights |volume=27 |issue=1 |pages=66–93 |doi=10.1163/15718115-02701001 |issn=1385-4879|quote=The fact that Turkish constitutional law takes an even more restrictive approach to minority rights than required under the Treaty of Lausanne was recognised by the UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) in its concluding observations on the combined fourth to sixth periodic reports of Turkey. The CERD noted that “the treaty of Lausanne does not explicitly prohibit the recognition of other groups as minorities” and that Turkey should consider recognising the minority status of other groups, such as Kurds. 50 In practice, this means that Turkey grants minority rights to “Greek, Armenian and Jewish minority communities while denying their possible impact for unrecognized minority groups (e.g. Kurds, Alevis, Arabs, Syriacs, Protestants, Roma etc.)”.}}</ref> Provisions of the Lausanne Treaty were extended to [[Bulgarians in Turkey]] by the [[Turkey-Bulgaria Friendship Treaty]] ({{lang|tr|Türkiye ve Bulgaristan Arasındaki Dostluk Antlaşması}}) of 18 October 1925.<ref name="Bayır2013"/><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Toktaş |first1=Şule |last2=Araş |first2=Bulent |date=2009 |title=The EU and Minority Rights in Turkey |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25655744 |journal=Political Science Quarterly |volume=124 |issue=4 |pages=697–720 |doi=10.1002/j.1538-165X.2009.tb00664.x |jstor=25655744 |issn=0032-3195}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Köksal |first=Yonca |date=2006 |title=Minority Policies in Bulgaria and Turkey: The Struggle to Define a Nation |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14683850601016390 |journal=Southeast European and Black Sea Studies |language=en |volume=6 |issue=4 |pages=501–521 |doi=10.1080/14683850601016390 |issn=1468-3857}}</ref><ref name=Özlem2019>{{Cite journal |first=Kader |last=Özlem |date=2019 |title=An Evaluation on Istanbul's Bulgarians as the "Invisible Minority" of Turkey |url=https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=802933 |journal=Turan-Sam |language=English |volume=11 |issue=43 |pages=387–393 |issn=1308-8041}}</ref> According to the [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Turkey)]], as of 2008, there were 89,000 Turkish citizens belonging to one of the three recognized minorities, two thirds of Armenian descent.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=161291 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100501063653/http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=161291 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2010-05-01 |access-date=2008-12-15 |title=Foreign Ministry: 89,000 minorities live in Turkey |date=2008-12-15 |work=[[Today's Zaman]] }}</ref> On 18 June 2013, the Ankara 13th Circuit Administrative Court unanimously ruled that the Assyrians were included as beneficiaries of the Lausanne Treaty,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Akbulut |first=Olgun |date=2023-10-19 |title=For Centenary of the Lausanne Treaty: Re-Interpretation and Re-Implementation of Linguistic Minority Rights of Lausanne |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/ijgr/aop/article-10.1163-15718115-bja10134/article-10.1163-15718115-bja10134.xml |journal=International Journal on Minority and Group Rights |volume=-1 |issue=aop |pages=1–24 |doi=10.1163/15718115-bja10134 |issn=1385-4879}}</ref> so that Assyrians were allowed to open the first school teaching in their mother tongue.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sabah |first=Daily |date=2019-08-26 |title=Last 17 years a golden era for minority communities, witnessing period of increased rights |url=https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/2019/08/26/last-17-years-a-golden-era-for-minority-communities-witnessing-period-of-increased-rights |access-date=2023-10-21 |website=Daily Sabah |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan: Nefret suçlarına göz yumanlar, farklı kültürlerin bir arada yaşama iradesini dinamitlemektedir |url=https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/gundem/cumhurbaskani-erdogan-nefret-suclarina-goz-yumanlar-farkli-kulturlerin-bir-arada-yasama-iradesini-dinamitlemektedir/3011693 |access-date=2023-10-21 |website=www.aa.com.tr}}</ref>

The word [[Turkish (disambiguation)|Turk or Turkish]] also has a wider meaning in a historical context because, at times, especially in the past, it has been used to refer to all Muslim inhabitants of the [[Ottoman Empire]] irrespective of their ethnicity.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bartleby.com/61/92/T0419200.html |title=The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition – "Turk" |author=American Heritage Dictionary |author-link=American Heritage Dictionary |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Company |access-date=2006-12-27 |year=2000 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070116043608/http://www.bartleby.com/61/92/T0419200.html |archive-date=2007-01-16 }}</ref>

According to the 2016 edition of the CIA World Factbook, 70–75% of Turkey's population consists of ethnic Turks, with Kurds accounting for 19% and other minorities between 6 and 11%.<ref name="cia"/>
According to [[Milliyet]], a 2008 report prepared for the [[National Security Council (Turkey)|National Security Council]] of Turkey by academics of three [[Turkish universities]] in eastern Anatolia suggested that there are approximately 55 million ethnic Turks, 9.6 million [[Kurds]], 3 million [[Zazas]], 2.5 million [[Circassians]], 2 million [[Bosniaks]], 500,000–1.3 million [[Albanians]], 1,000,000 [[Georgians]], 870,000 [[Arabs]], 600,000 [[Pomaks]], 80,000 [[Laz people|Laz]], 60,000 [[Armenians]], 30,000 [[British people|British]], 25,000 [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]], 20,000 [[Jews]], 15,000 [[Greeks]], and 500 [[Yazidis]] living in Turkey.<ref name="Milliyet">{{cite news
|title = Türkiyedeki Kürtlerin Sayısı!
|work = [[Milliyet]]
|date = 2008-06-06
|access-date = 2008-06-07
|language = tr
|url = http://www.milliyet.com.tr/default.aspx?aType=SonDakika&Kategori=yasam&ArticleID=873452&Date=07.06.2008
}}</ref>

According to a survey published in 2022 by Konda Research, Turks make up 77% of the population, while 19% self-identify as Kurd. Arabs (Syrian refugees excluded) make up 2%, and other ethnic groups are 2% of the population.<ref>{{Cite web |title=TR100 |url=https://interaktif.konda.com.tr/turkiye-100-kisi-olsaydi |access-date=2022-05-16 |website=interaktif.konda.com.tr}}</ref>

Since the immigration to the big cities in the west of Turkey, interethnic marriage has become more common. A recent study estimates that there are 2,708,000 marriages between Turks and Kurds.<ref>Kurdish Life in Contemporary Turkey: Migration, Gender and Ethnic Identity, Anna Grabolle Celiker, page 160, I.B.Tauris, 2013</ref>

According to a survey done in March 2020 by Area Araştırma, 20.4% of the total population of Turkey claim to be Kurdish (either Kurmanji speaking or Zazaki speaking).

Ethnolinguistic estimates in 2014 by [[Ethnologue]] and [[Jacques Leclerc]]:<ref>{{cite web|title=Turkey|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/country/tr/languages|website=Ethnologue}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Turquie: situation générale|url=http://www.axl.cefan.ulaval.ca/asie/turquie_1general.htm|website=Axl.cefan.ulaval.ca|access-date=8 November 2017}}</ref><ref name="megl" />
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|-
! People
! Population
! Percentage
! Language
! [[Expanded Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale|Status]]
|-
| [[Anatolia]]n [[Turkish people|Turks]] 
| 53,402,000
| 70.6%
| [[Turkish language|Turkish]]
| 1 (National)
|-
| [[Kurmanji]] [[Kurds]] 
|8,127,000
| 10.7%
| [[Kurmanji language|Kurmanji]]
|3 (Wider communication)
|-
| Turcophones, [[Kurds]] 
| 5,881,000
| 7.7%
| [[Turkish language|Turkish]]
|1 (National)
|-
| [[Zaza people|Zaza]] 
| 1,155,000
| 1.5%
| [[Zaza language|Zaza]]
|5 (Developing)
|-
| [[Arabs]] 
| 1,133,000
| 1.4%
| [[Levantine Arabic]]
|
|-
| [[Kabardians]], [[Circassians]] 
| 1,062,000
|1.4 %
| [[Kabardian language|Kabardian]]
|5 (Developing)
|-
| [[Iraqis|Iraqi]] [[Arabs]] 
| 722,000
| 0.9%
| [[Mesopotamian Arabic]]
|6a (Vigorous)
|-
| [[Azerbaijani people|Azerbaijani]]
| 540,000
| 0.7%
| [[Azerbaijani language|Azerbaijani]]
|5 (Developing)
|-
| [[Romani people|Romani]]
| 500,000 (1985)
| 0.7%
| [[Romani language|Romani]], [[Domari language|Domari]]
|
|-
| [[Gagauzes]]
| 418,000
| 0.5%
| [[Balkan Gagauz Turkish]]
|7 (Shifting)
|-
| [[Pomaks]]
| 351,000
| 0.4%
| [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]]
|5 (Dispersed)
|-
| [[Pontic Greeks]]
| 321,000
| 0.4%
| [[Pontic Greek]]
|6a (Vigorous)
|-
| [[Adyghe people|Adyghe]], [[Circassians]] 
| 316,000
| 0.4%
| [[Adyghe language|Adyghe]]
|5 (Developing)
|-
| [[Alevi]] [[Kurds]]
| 184,000
| 0.2%
| [[Zazaki]]
|
|-
| [[Georgians]]
| 151,000
| 0,1 %
| [[Georgian language|Georgian]]
|6b (Threatened)
|-
| [[Bosniaks]]
| 101,000
| 0.1%
| [[Bosnian language|Bosnian]]
|
|-
| [[Chechens]]
| 101,000
| 0.1%
| [[Chechen language|Chechen]]
|
|-
| [[Crimean Tatars]]
| 100,000
| 0.1%
| [[Crimean Tatar language|Crimean Tatar]]

|5 (Developing)
|-
| [[Laz people|Lazi]]
| 93,000
| 0.1%
| [[Laz language]]
|6b (Threatened)
|-
| [[Karakalpaks]]
| 74,000
| 
| [[Karakalpak language|Karakalpak]]
|
|-
| [[Albanians]]
| 66,000
| 
| [[Tosk Albanian]]
|6b (Threatened)
|-
| [[Armenians]]
| 61,000
| 
| [[Armenian language|Armenian]]
|6b (Threatened)
|-
| [[Abkhazians]]
| 44,000
| 
| [[Abkhaz language|Abkhazian]]
|6b (Threatened)
|-
| [[Han Chinese]]
| 38,000
| 
| [[Chinese language|Chinese]]
|
|-
| [[Ossetians]]
| 37,000
| 
| [[Ossetian language|Ossetian]]
|
|-
| [[British people|British]]
| 35,000
| 
| [[English language|English]]
|
|-
| [[Bulgarians]]
| 32,000
| 
| [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]]
|
|-
| [[Jews]]
| 30,000
| 
| [[Turkish language|Turkish]], [[Ladino people|Ladino]]
|7 (Shifting)
|-
| [[Tatars]]
| 26,000
| 
| [[Tatars|Tatar]]
|
|-
| [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]]
| 25,000
| 
| [[Neo-Aramaic]]
|
|-
| [[Pakistanis]]
| 22,000
| 
| [[Urdu]]
|
|-
| [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]]
| 15,000
| 
| [[Turoyo language|Turoyo]]
|6b (Threatened)
|-
| [[Turkish people|Turks]] other ([[Hemshin peoples|Hemshin]], [[Meskhetian Turks]], [[Gajal]])
| 57,000
| 
| [[Turkish language|Turkish]]
|
|-
| [[Kurds]] other ([[Herki]] and Shikaki)
| 62,000
| 
| [[Kurdish language|Kurdish]]
|
|-
| Other
| 180,000
| 
|
|
|-
| '''Total'''
| '''75,566,800'''
| 
|
|}