Istanbul, Turkey Population 2024

Istanbul's 2024 population is now estimated at 16,047,400In 1950, the population of Istanbul was 967,497Istanbul has grown by 199,600 in the last year, which represents a 1.26% annual change.These population estimates and projections come from the latest revision of the UN World Urbanization Prospects. These estimates represent the Urban agglomeration of Istanbul, which typically includes Istanbul's population in addition to adjacent suburban areas.

Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey and the heart of the country. It is also one of the largest agglomerations in Europe and the fifth largest city in the world in terms of population within city limits. Interestingly, Istanbul is a transcontinental city as it is located on the Bosphorus waterway in northwest Turkey between the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara. This means the commercial center is in Europe while the rest of the city is in Asia. In 2016, Istanbul had an estimated population of over 14.6 million.

Istanbul has grown very rapidly over the past one hundred years, although it has always had a large population. Istanbul has remained one of the largest cities in the world for most of its long history. Istanbul (then Constantinople) had a population between 400,000 and 500,000 in 500 AD, pushing out Rome as the largest ever city in the world at the time.

City Size and Population Density

Istanbul has a huge area - coming to a total of 1,539 square kilometers (594 square miles). Istanbul has a population density of 2,523 people per square kilometer (6,530/sq mi), far greater than Turkey's density of 102 people per square kilometer. The most densely populated areas are the southwest, west, and northwest of the city center as well as the European side, while the most densely populated district is the Asian side, Uskudar.

Istanbul Demographics

Istanbul has a tiny foreign population of just 43,000 in 2007, but only 28% of the population originates from Istanbul. Istanbul is home to most of the ethnic and religious minorities in Turkey.

The Kurdish community is the most significant ethnic minority in the city, originating from southeastern and eastern Turkey, with a population of up to 3 million in Istanbul. This is the largest Kurdish population in the world.

Turkey was once home to a sizeable Jewish population numbering 100,000 in 1950, but this number dropped to 18,000 in 2005. Most Jews in the country live in Istanbul or Izmir. There are also 17,000 Assyrians/Syriacs in Istanbul and a large number of Roma people. The Sulukule neighborhood in Istanbul is the oldest Roma settlement in all of Europe.

Through the 1800s, the Christian population of Istanbul was mostly either members of the Armenian Apostolic Church or Greek Orthodox, but this changed in the 20th century due to a population exchange between Turkey and Greece, a wealth tax in the 1940s and riots in the 1950s. The Greek population has since fallen from 130,000 in 1923 to about 3,000 by 2000. The Armenian community has also dropped, partly caused by the Armenian Genocide, but it has rebounded thanks to recent immigration. There are now up to 70,000 Armenians in the city, compared to 164,000 in 1913.

Istanbul History

It is believed that Istanbul has been inhabited since 3000 BCE, although it did not become a city until the Greeks arrived in the 7th century BCE. These colonists, led by King Byzas, settled here due to its strategic location and named the city Byzantium. It eventually became a part of the Roman Empire in the 300s, and Roman emperor Constantine the Great rebuilt the entire city, giving it monuments similar to Rome. It was declared the capital of the Roman Empire in 330 and renamed Constantinople. The city then became a center of Christianity.

In the 400s, Constantinople was divided and became the capital of the Byzantine Empire. It became Greek, rather than Roman. Constantinople eventually declined, and it was pillaged after the Fourth Crusade. It then became the center of the Catholic Latin Empire in the early 1200s. Constantinople began to weaken further as it was put in the middle of conflicts between the Greek Orthodox Byzantine Empire and the Catholic Latin Empire. Shortly afterward, it was recaptured and returned to the Byzantine Empire. It was then that Ottoman Turks began conquering the area.

The Ottomans officially conquered it in 1453, and it was immediately renamed Istanbul and was made the capital of the Ottoman Empire. Sultan Mehmed brought back the Greek Orthodox and Catholic residents who had fled, as well as Jewish, Christian and Muslim people for a mixed population. By the 1500s, Istanbul reached nearly 1 million people, although the Ottoman Empire was defeated and occupied by the allies in WWII. Following occupation, the Turkish War of Independence occurred, and the city became a part of the Republic of Turkey in 1923.

Istanbul Population Growth

The most rapid growth in the city came during the late 20th century when its population increased from 983,000 in 1950 to 10,923,000 in 2000. The population has grown partly from expanding the city limits, especially in the 1980s, when Istanbulites doubled in number. Istanbul is growing at a rate of 3.45%, making it one of the fastest growing metropolitans in the world.

Country
Turkey
Growth Rate
1.26%

86 Rows

Year
Population
203517,986,300
203417,819,300
203317,647,400
203217,473,100
203117,298,600
203017,124,200
202916,949,400
202816,773,700
202716,597,400
202616,419,100
202516,236,700
202416,047,400
202315,847,800
202215,636,200
202115,415,200
202015,190,300
201914,967,700
201814,750,800
201714,539,800
201614,332,100
201514,126,800
201413,901,900
201313,658,400
201213,419,400
201113,057,700
201012,584,900
200912,129,200
200811,690,700
200711,266,800
200610,858,900
200510,465,700
200410,087,300
20039,721,550
20029,369,560
20019,030,320
20008,743,870
19998,553,320
19988,367,180
19978,154,690
19967,906,600
19957,665,400
19947,431,880
19937,205,470
19926,986,260
19916,773,130
19906,552,160
19896,306,530
19886,070,440
19875,842,560
19865,623,540
19855,407,300
19845,187,750
19834,976,560
19824,774,230
19814,580,130
19804,397,040
19794,227,840
19784,065,370
19773,909,140
19763,759,120
19753,600,330
19743,419,900
19733,248,510
19723,085,930
19712,931,070
19702,772,100
19692,597,390
19682,433,920
19672,280,330
19662,136,620
19652,001,190
19641,872,950
19631,752,610
19621,640,150
19611,534,900
19601,453,350
19591,411,800
19581,371,490
19571,332,340
19561,294,350
19551,248,710
19541,186,580
19531,127,550
19521,071,530
19511,018,150
1950967,497

86 Rows

Year
Population
Change
Growth
1950967,4970%0
19511,018,1505.24%50,653
19521,071,5305.24%53,380
19531,127,5505.23%56,020
19541,186,5805.24%59,030
19551,248,7105.24%62,130
19561,294,3503.65%45,640
19571,332,3402.94%37,990
19581,371,4902.94%39,150
19591,411,8002.94%40,310
19601,453,3502.94%41,550
19611,534,9005.61%81,550
19621,640,1506.86%105,250
19631,752,6106.86%112,460
19641,872,9506.87%120,340
19652,001,1906.85%128,240
19662,136,6206.77%135,430
19672,280,3306.73%143,710
19682,433,9206.74%153,590
19692,597,3906.72%163,470
19702,772,1006.73%174,710
19712,931,0705.73%158,970
19723,085,9305.28%154,860
19733,248,5105.27%162,580
19743,419,9005.28%171,390
19753,600,3305.28%180,430
19763,759,1204.41%158,790
19773,909,1403.99%150,020
19784,065,3704%156,230
19794,227,8404%162,470
19804,397,0404%169,200
19814,580,1304.16%183,090
19824,774,2304.24%194,100
19834,976,5604.24%202,330
19845,187,7504.24%211,190
19855,407,3004.23%219,550
19865,623,5404%216,240
19875,842,5603.89%219,020
19886,070,4403.9%227,880
19896,306,5303.89%236,090
19906,552,1603.89%245,630
19916,773,1303.37%220,970
19926,986,2603.15%213,130
19937,205,4703.14%219,210
19947,431,8803.14%226,410
19957,665,4003.14%233,520
19967,906,6003.15%241,200
19978,154,6903.14%248,090
19988,367,1802.61%212,490
19998,553,3202.22%186,140
20008,743,8702.23%190,550
20019,030,3203.28%286,450
20029,369,5603.76%339,240
20039,721,5503.76%351,990
200410,087,3003.76%365,750
200510,465,7003.75%378,400
200610,858,9003.76%393,200
200711,266,8003.76%407,900
200811,690,7003.76%423,900
200912,129,2003.75%438,500
201012,584,9003.76%455,700
201113,057,7003.76%472,800
201213,419,4002.77%361,700
201313,658,4001.78%239,000
201413,901,9001.78%243,500
201514,126,8001.62%224,900
201614,332,1001.45%205,300
201714,539,8001.45%207,700
201814,750,8001.45%211,000
201914,967,7001.47%216,900
202015,190,3001.49%222,600
202115,415,2001.48%224,900
202215,636,2001.43%221,000
202315,847,8001.35%211,600
202416,047,4001.26%199,600
202516,236,7001.18%189,300
202616,419,1001.12%182,400
202716,597,4001.09%178,300
202816,773,7001.06%176,300
202916,949,4001.05%175,700
203017,124,2001.03%174,800
203117,298,6001.02%174,400
203217,473,1001.01%174,500
203317,647,4001%174,300
203417,819,3000.97%171,900
203517,986,3000.94%167,000

Istanbul Population Data (Urban Area)

Name
2024 Pop.
2024 Growth
Istanbul16,047,4001.26%
Ankara5,477,0901.48%
Izmir3,120,3401.03%
Bursa2,115,5101.4%
Adana1,856,6401.13%
Gaziantep1,833,0101.57%
Konya1,429,9401.58%
Antalya1,372,4001.87%
Diyarbakir1,113,3301.49%
Mersin1,084,8201.44%
Kayseri1,025,5101.21%
Eskisehir848,0021.67%
Gebze831,3602.21%
Samsun706,7841.95%
Denizli701,2311.76%
Sanliurfa615,8471.04%
Kahramanmaras592,7461.71%
Sakarya588,9941.83%
Van568,1552.12%
Malatya526,0121.33%

Other Cities in Turkey

  1. Turkish Statistical Institute - Turkish demographics and statistics
  2. Turkish Government - Istanbul population and demographic structure

Sources