As birthrates fall, Turkey's government steps in

After declaring 2025 Turkey's "Year of the Family", Erdogan last month announced 2026 would mark the start of the "Decade of the Family". But his pleas for women to have at least three children and offers of financial incentives for newlyweds may not be enough as Turkey grapples with a deepening economic crisis. Official figures show Turkey's birthrate has fallen from 2.38 children per woman in 2001 to 1.48 in 2025 -- lower than in France, Britain or the United States -- in what Erdogan, a 71-year-old pious Muslim and father-of-four...