Abstract:

Kars Province, located in the Erzurum Kars Section of Eastern Anatolia Region in the northeast of Turkey, has an administrative structure consisting of 8 districts and 383 village settlements, including the province center, spread over a total area of approximately 9.939 km2. The Province still resided by a population of nearly 300.000 represents 0.39% of Turkish population and ranks 59th in the order of population for Turkish provinces. Kars Province has a population density of 30 people per km2, which is a figure far below the population density of 100 people per km2 in Turkey. Kars Province, where birth rates are still high, suffers from population loss due to emigration that occurs on the grounds of primarily economic reasons, although the rate of natural population growth is also high. The province ranks 3rd in the order of external migration among Turkish provinces, with an emigration rate of -23.01%, and it continues losing population. If the current conditions concerning the quality of the population continues, it is believed that the population loss will remain as a problem of the province. Showing no major differences in the distribution of population due to its geographical position, the population of Kars Province is mainly concentrated on the settlements close to water resources and transportation means. Population characteristics specific to rural areas draw attention due to the aforementioned condition in the province where approximately two-third of the population lives in rural areas.  Key Words:  Kars, Population of Kars Province, Demography of Kars Province

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