Abstract:

Muğla is the third most significant tourism centre of Turkey with its historical, cultural and natural values. The population of Muğla, which was 174,684 in the first census in 1927, increased by approximately 5.5 times to 1,021,441 in 2021. This study aims at analysing the changes in the population of Muğla during the Republican Period and the spatial pattern of the population by district as of 2021. The Address Based Population Registration System (ABPRS) data was obtained from the database of the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK). The elicited data were converted into tables through the Excel program and supported with tables and graphs. All numerical data were added to the ArcGIS 10.9 package program and used as a base on the relevant maps. Having employed the graduated colours method, this study analysed population density of Muğla in 1950, 1970, 1990, 2010 and 2021. It is likely that Muğla will carry on to be a province that receives migration in the future due to the high employment opportunities based on coastal tourism and agricultural activities as well as the unemployment rates being below the Turkey average.

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