Demographic change between the years 2000-2018 in rural interaction: Giresun example

The study aims at investigating the demographic structure of Giresun Province between 2000 and 2018. In this study, the statistics which were created and published by TUIK (Turkish Statistical Institute) on Giresun Province were often used in order to make evaluations about rural and urban population. Before evaluating the rural and urban population of the province, the rural and urban areas were determined and thus the population in central disrict and 15 non-central disricts were considered as urban population. People living in towns, villages and other settlements were considered as rural population. The study explores the demographic structure of Giresun Province according to some indicators such as population density, population growth rate, population by sex and age, educational level, vital statistics such as birth, death, marriage and divorce, dependency ratios, household population in-migration and out migration rates, employment and unemployment rates and per capital income rates. The study found out that dramatic changes happened in the demographic structure of Giresun Province between 2000 and 2018 because of the rural depopulation. Main reasons which people relocated from country to cities were lack of economic opportunities, distribution of land by inheritance, living solely depending on hazelnut production and desire of new generation for living more comfortably in urban areas. The study concluded that there is a need of supporting rural development in order to stop migration towards big cities and implement reverse migration. Key words: Giresun, Giresun population, Rural area, Urban area, Demography