Van: population and official figures

In depth

• Economy, jobs and prices in Van: GDP per person across the province that contains the city of Van was $6,185 (203,049 lira) in 2024, 60% below the national figure of $15,325; it ranked 2nd lowest of 33 big-city provinces.
• Health in Van: Van (figures for the whole province) had 2,071 doctors in 2024, 185 per 100,000 people, 7th lowest of 33 big-city provinces (Turkey: 258); 911 of them were specialists.
• Education in Van: 13.2% of residents aged 15 and over across the province that contains the city of Van held a university or college degree in 2024, 2nd lowest of 33 big-city provinces (national 19.6%); the share was 12.0% for women and 14.3% for men.
• Poverty and living standards in Van: 9,715 homes were sold across the province that contains the city of Van in 2024 (8.7 per 1,000 residents, +234% on 2014); 7.1% of the sales were mortgaged.
• Government budget and revenue in Van: Central government units across the province that contains the city of Van collected 21.0 billion lira of budget revenue in 2025, 18,752 lira per resident (4th lowest of 33 big-city provinces), and spent 89.8 billion lira.
• Government and politics in Van: Van Metropolitan Municipality has been run by the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Parti) since its candidate won the mayoral race on 31 March 2024.

Who runs Van?

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

• Adana 2,263,373
• Şanlıurfa 2,143,020
• 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
• Kahramanmaraş 1,171,298
• Aydın 1,134,031
• Tekirdağ 1,113,400
• Sakarya 1,060,876
• Denizli 1,051,056

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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