Demographic analysis of Yalova province: Socio-economic and spatial development

Yalova, while was a district of Istanbul province, gained the status of a province in 1995 and is the province with the smallest area in Turkey. Yalova is located on the northwestern shores of the Samanlı Mountains and the northern shores of the Armutlu Peninsula and is an important tourism area of the Marmara Region. Thermal springs, ornamental plant and flower cultivation is another issue that affects the Yalova's economy. Yalova is located in a region where some of Turkey's most important industrial and transport networks are concentrated. Yalova province receives migration from all provinces, especially international immigration. The aim of the research is to analyze the population change in Yalova province within the socio-economic and spatial framework. The population of Yalova province increased 16.4 times between 1935 and 2020. According to the population projections, the population of Yalova province is expected to increase continuously every year to 329,001 people by 2025. In the study, the population change in Yalova province, the results of the 2000 General Population Census and the results of the Address Based Population Registration System were used as secondary data. Observation and analysis of documents were made as qualitative research methods, descriptive and systematic analysis was taken as the basis. The main factors that cause population change are birth, death and migration. It has been determined that international migrations and internal migrations play an important role in the change of population in Yalova province. Between 2008 and 2020, the effect of internal migration on population growth was 44.4% on average. The effect of international migration on Yalova's population growth was 47.5% in 2016, 39.7% in 2017, 45.6% in 2018, and 59.4% in 2019. Population growth has always had a negative impact on space. With yalova's population growth, the population density intensifying in the urban centers in the coming years will further increase the pressures on the space. Considering the land use of Yalova province, agricultural areas decrease with the increase in population and it is seen that the pressure on agricultural areas continues. When the change in the total city population of the districts of Yalova province between 2007 and 2020 is examined, the urban population of all districts in Yalova province has increased, and the average annual population growth rate has been realized as 39.36‰. When the total rural population of the districts is examined between the same years, the rural population of the other districts has increased except for Çiftlikköy district. The average annual population growth rate of rural population in Yalova province was realized as 14.88‰. As the rural population increases less than the urban population, the projects supporting rural development should be increased, so that the rural population should be protected and the continuation of agricultural production should be maintained. Keywords: Human Geography, Population, Demography, Migration, Yalova.