MHP proposes 20-point policy to address Turkey's declining fertility

Ahmet Selim Yurdakul, Deputy Chairman of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), has introduced a 20-point proposal for “Active Pronatalist Policies” to address Turkey's changing demographic structure. Yurdakul emphasized that population issues should be treated as a strategic matter of national survival, impacting economic capacity, labor, social security, and national defense.

According to the proposal, Turkey's total fertility rate has declined from 2.38 in 2001 to 1.42 in 2025, falling below the replacement level of 2.1 for nine consecutive years. Data indicates that in 2025, 76 provinces in Turkey had fertility rates below 2.10, while 59 provinces fell below 1.50. Yurdakul warned that lost demographic time cannot be recovered with any budget and urged for long-term state strategies rather than short-term political approaches.