Şanlıurfa: population and official figures

In depth

• Economy, jobs and prices in Şanlıurfa: GDP per person across the province that contains the city of Şanlıurfa was $5,731 (188,144 lira) in 2024, 63% below the national figure of $15,325; it ranked the lowest of 33 big-city provinces.
• Health in Şanlıurfa: Şanlıurfa (figures for the whole province) had 2,912 doctors in 2024, 130 per 100,000 people, the lowest of 33 big-city provinces (Turkey: 258); 1,312 of them were specialists.
• Education in Şanlıurfa: 11.0% of residents aged 15 and over across the province that contains the city of Şanlıurfa held a university or college degree in 2024, the lowest of 33 big-city provinces (national 19.6%); the share was 9.7% for women and 12.2% for men.
• Poverty and living standards in Şanlıurfa: 32,068 homes were sold across the province that contains the city of Şanlıurfa in 2024 (14.3 per 1,000 residents, +113% on 2014); 3.9% of the sales were mortgaged.
• Government budget and revenue in Şanlıurfa: Central government units across the province that contains the city of Şanlıurfa collected 30.8 billion lira of budget revenue in 2025, 13,775 lira per resident (the lowest of 33 big-city provinces), and spent 111.0 billion lira.
• Government and politics in Şanlıurfa: Şanlıurfa Metropolitan Municipality has been run by the New Welfare Party (Yeniden Refah) since its candidate won the mayoral race on 31 March 2024.

Who runs Şanlıurfa?

In Türkiye, cities and towns are run by metropolitan municipalities: Metropolitan mayor and council elected for five years; in other provinces a directly elected provincial council, with the appointed governor heading the executive. Transport, water, major roads, planning and services across a whole province.

How local power works in Türkiye

Cities of a similar size in Türkiye

• İstanbul 15,840,900
• Ankara 5,747,325
• İzmir 4,425,789
• Bursa 3,147,818
• Antalya 2,619,832
• Konya 2,277,017
• Adana 2,263,373
• Gaziantep 2,130,432
• Kocaeli 2,033,441
• Mersin 1,891,145
• Diyarbakir 1,791,373
• Hatay 1,670,712
• Manisa 1,456,626
• Kayseri 1,434,357
• Samsun 1,371,274
• Balıkesir 1,250,610

Up a level: all cities in Türkiye · Türkiye · government and power

Sources

• United Nations Statistics Division: Demographic Yearbook 2024, Table 8: Population of capital cities and cities of 100 000 or more inhabitants, latest available year, 2005-2024, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0c6784df022e…)
• Hazine ve Maliye Bakanlığı, Muhasebat Genel Müdürlüğü (Ministry of Treasury and Finance): 2025 central government budget revenue and expenditure by province (cumulative to December 2025), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 ee14ab6763f0…)
• Hazine ve Maliye Bakanlığı, Muhasebat Genel Müdürlüğü (Ministry of Treasury and Finance): 2025 local government budget expenditure by institution type and province (municipalities, provincial special administrations, local unions), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a64619ab0792…)
• Hazine ve Maliye Bakanlığı, Muhasebat Genel Müdürlüğü (Ministry of Treasury and Finance): 2025 general budget tax revenue assessed and collected by province (cumulative to December 2025), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 adf424e2695d…)
• Yüksek Seçim Kurulu (YSK, Supreme Election Council), Seçmen Kütüğü Genel Müdürlüğü: Seçim İstatistikleri 2020-2024 (election statistics: 2023 presidential and parliamentary elections, 31 March 2024 local elections), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 cb8acf717c1a…)
• Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (TÜİK, Turkish Statistical Institute): Bölgesel İstatistikler (Regional Statistics database): 114 indicators for the 81 provinces, 2014-2024 (CSV export), read 24 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 54a60ac62f7a…)

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