The demographics of the Ottoman Empire include population density, ethnicity, education level, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. Lucy Mary Jane Garnett stated in the 1904 book Turkish Life in Town and Country, published in 1904, that "No country in the world, perhaps, contains a population so heterogeneous as that of Turkey."Garnett, Lucy Mary Jane. Turkish Life in Town and Country. G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1904. p. 1.
Census Demographic data for most of the history of the Ottoman Empire is not quite precise. For most of the five centuries of its existence, the empire did not have easily computable valid data except figures for the number of employed citizens. Until the first official census (1881–1893), data was derived from extending the taxation values to the total population. Because of the use of taxation data to infer population size, detailed data for numerous Ottoman urban centers – towns with more than 5,000 inhabitants – is accurate. This data was collaborated with data on wages and prices. Another source was used for the numbers of landlords of households in the Ottoman Empire – every household was assumed to have five residents.Behar, Cem, ed. 1996. Osmanlı Đmparatorluğu'nun ve Türkiye'nin nüfusu, 1500-1927. Ankara: T.C. Basbakanlık Devlet Đstatistik Enstitüsü = State Institute of Statistics Prime Ministry Republic of Turkey.
1831 Ottoman census Entire villages remained uncounted. Taxable population was enumerated, i.e. healthy men over 15 years old. For some settlements the rest of the male population was the majority. AreaTotalMuslimE. OrthodoxAll Roma (Gypsies)JewsArmeniansTotal (Of those counted)3,377,3071,316,6821,941,81693,94320,6364,230Rumeli Eyalet337,001686,99125,1269,9552,099Çatalca rural8482,592Silivri887Midya127Terkos794Çekmeceıkebır464Çekmeceısagır403Tiirkeşçıttiığı29Tekturdağı3,7737,72757Inecik81283624Malkara1,5114,01064Gelibolu4,1796,613Şarköy9627,752Bergos1,8603,1543251Çorlu9711,9384573Marmara Ereğlisi17755424Babayiatik5421,253Havas Mahmutpaşa684896Hayrabolu2,2031,051Evreşe66695639Inoz2742,32762Keşan8504,55772Çisriergene1,9298,886Ipsala9551,512Edirne18,48716,7897501,5411,443Ada rural1,0905,214Çdke rural1,9904,803Üsküdar and Manastır rural2,33317,040Tırfelli rural181Çisri Muştafa Paşa9141,329Çirmen1,9101,262Çirpan9384,619Ahlçelebi6,0804,107Akçakizanllk7,1958,097748Zağraiatık5,58612,782Dimetoka7,52510,852Ferecık2,3853,473Meğri692833Gumülcine30,5175,3391,712Yenıceikerasu7,5822,5401,273Uzuncaabat Hasköy9,94110,118633Sultanyeri6,2515189Drama8,6183,0771,007Cığlacik and San Şaban4,98613154Tırnova3,051Hutaliç rural7,543Torluk rural5,108Sahra rural2,678Filibe10,92044,9592,021344344Pazarcik3,26914,0833,653119Ihtaman4081,50183Sofya4,16139,692886Şehirköy1,34127,643379Pravişte4,7182,596259Bereketlu967170Kavala1,514102Berkofca1,12513,549382Cuma Pazari3,733916Egri Bucak1,4821,294Çarşamba2,3501,717Serfıce6822,260Tikveş4,4546,104Petriç3,8933,869Radovişte3,5044,907Nevrekop8,5398,620739Melnik9184,182260Timurhisar3,2296,611494Zihne2,86710,017642Siroz4,45916,5961,761248Selanik12,3682,16695115,667Yenice Vardar6,8114,766Vodine3,9963,883Karaferiye1,68011,052Ağustos151737Perzinek2154,436Iznebol1315,152151Ustrumca3,6745,344546Toyran4,6313,076334Karadağ2,7221,452108Avrathisar3,1766,949332Dupniçe3,52811,642Radomir7897,211Ivraca1,46314,282262Kratova, Ivraniye, Palangai, Eğridere4,74921,068627Vidin, Akçar, Karalom, Belgratçik, Çunarka, Godgoskaca and Esterlik rural6,69524,8461,289Köprülü4,76712,718390Perlepe3,68314,489450Samokov81611,9731194Köstendil3,03214,070232145Behişte3,2022,17689Kesriye3,31316,124335Persepe5682,162Manastir6,72324,5507051,163Florina5,5965,253365Istrova1,6581,17657Hotpeşte2,0813,63043Nasliç2,6935,748275Iştip6,9209,826Koçana3,3746,112Kumanova2,27610,819Silistre Eyalet150,97096,3428,779178Niğbolu Sancak110,30481,4895,804178Selvı7,734Izladi2,580Etripolu545Lofça12,404Plevne6,031Rahova1,831Sipre235Niğbolu3,8938,5981,190Ziştovi3,8975,760629Rusçuk1,61657,1961,437Yanbolu1,9421,507Nevahii Yanbolu1,4441,237Zağraicedıt3,2924,745Yenicei Kızılağaç, Hatunili4991,502Niš1,86218,378575178Prizren9,4882,867366Yehud2,7682,47944Tırguvişte2,4042,3233Gude7,574100Usküp9,66011,700900Kalkandelen11,7668,043472Kirçova2,2865,15488Silistre Sancak40,66614,8532975Varna3,4271,573167Isakçi55360539Minkalye6941537Balçik and Kuvarna1766630125Karkkala rural52Maçin99182125Köstence1,41738641Hırsova1,39198621Tulça47259219Kannabad5,0651,454358Babadağ1,1711,66138Doskasri1,114596273Aydos5,790845449Yenipazar3482948300Pravadı4,5301,465231Umurfakih1,140146Kozluca1,8401,163146Pazarcık3,515761287Çardak2,308300223Republic of Bulgaria borders[Димитър Аркадиев. ИЗМЕНЕНИЯ В БРОЯ НА НАСЕЛЕНИЕТО ПО БЪЛГАРСКИТЕ ЗЕМИ В СЪСТАВА НА ОСМАНСКАТА ИМПЕРИЯ http://spisaniestatistika.nsi.bg/page/bg/details.php?article_id=84&tab=en] National Statistical Institute181,455296,7691,7474702344
1844 Ottoman census District Muslims Rumelia 29%
1881–1893 Ottoman census The first official census (1881–1893) took 10 years to finish. In 1893 the results were compiled and presented. This census is the first modern, general and standardized census accomplished not for taxation nor for military purposes, but to acquire demographic data. The population was divided into ethno-religious and gender characteristics. Numbers of both male and female subjects are given in ethno-religious categories including Muslims, Greeks (including Asia Minor Greeks, Pontic Greeks, and Caucasus Greeks, all Orthodox Christians under the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Constantinople from extremely distinct ethnic origin), Armenians, Bulgarians, Catholics, Jews, Protestants, Latins, Syriacs and Roma.
In 1867 the Council of States took charge of drawing population tables, increasing the precision of population records. They introduced new measures of recording population counts in 1874. This led to the establishment of a General Population Administration, attached to the Ministry of Interior in 1881–1882. These changes politicized the population counts.
Ottoman Census ValuesAdministrative UnitTotal PopArmenian PopArmenian %Van Vilayet132,00755,05141.70%Bitlis Vilayet338,642108,05031.91%Izmit228,44344,95319.68%Erzurum Vilayet637,015120,14718.86%Dersaadet903,482166,18518.39%Vilayet of Mamuret-ul-Aziz466,57983,39417.87%Diyarbekir Vilayet414,65760,17514.51%Sivas Vilayet980,876129,08513.16%Adana Vilayet398,76436,6959.20%Halep Vilayet819,23870,6638.63%Ankara Vilayet1,018,74481,4377.99%Hüdavendigar Vilayet1,454,29470,2624.83%Trabzon Vilayet1,164,59549,7824.27%Sehremanati Mülhakati88,3063,0743.48%Edirne985,96218,4581.87%Çatalca61,0019791.60%Biga143,9041,8421.28%Konya1,022,83410,9721.07%Aydin1,478,42415,2291.03%Zor51,2704740.92%Kastamonu968,8846,6520.69%Kudüs258,8601,6100.62%Beyrut620,7632,9210.47%Suriye551,1351,4780.27%Selanik1,038,953510.00%Cezayir-i Bahri Sefid286,736100.00%Manastir711,466220.00%1,139,651
1905–1906 Ottoman census
After 1893 the Ottoman Empire established a statistics authority (Istatistik-i Umumi Idaresi) under which results of another official census was published in 1899.
Istatistik-i Umumi Idaresi conducted a new census survey for which field work lasted two years (1905–06). 2-3 million people in Iraq and Syria remained unregistered and uncounted.Karpat 1985 As a factual note this survey's complete (total) documentation was not published. Results of regional studies on this data were published later, which were sorted by their publication date. Included in the publication and subsequent ones was the Ottoman Empire's population as of 1911, 1912, and 1914. The substantial archival documentation on the census has been used in many modern studies and international publications. After 1906 the Ottoman Empire began to disband and a chain of violent wars such as the Italo-Turkish War, Balkan Wars and World War I drastically changed the region, its borders, and its demographics.
Population distribution of the Millets in the Ottoman Empire in 1906, according to the official censusStudies on Ottoman social and political history, Kemal H. Karpat, p.766, 2002-History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey, Stanford Jay Shaw, p.241, 1977 Millet Inhabitants % of total Muslimsa 15,498,747 - 15,518,478 76.09% - 74.23% Greeksb 2,823,065 - 2,833,370 13.86% - 13.56% Armeniansc 1,031,708 - 1,140,563 5.07% - 5.46% Bulgarians 761,530 - 762,754 3.74% - 3.65% Jews 253,435 - 256,003 1.24% - 1.23% Protestantsd 53,880 0.26% Othersd 332,569 1.59% Total 20,368,485 - 20,897,617 100.00% Notes: a The Muslim Millet includes all Muslims. The largest of them being Turks, Arabs and Kurds.b The Greek Millet includes all Christians part of the Greek Orthodox Church. This includes Slavs and Albanians.c This includes the various Assyrian Churches.d The first source does not include Protestants and "others".
1914 Ottoman census
1914 Official Census Values (Male-Female Aggregated)ProvinceMuslimArmenianGreekAdana341.903 (74.8%)52.650 (13%)8.974 (2.2%)Ankara877.285 (92.5%)51.556 (5.4%)20.240 (2.1%)Antalya235.762 (95.01%)630 (.02%)12.385 (4.97%)Aydın (İzmir)1.249.06720.287299.097Bitlis309.999 (72.5%)117.492 (27.5%)0Bolu399.2812.9705.115Canik265.95027.31998.739Çatalca20.04884236.791 (63.78%)Diyarbekir492.10165.8501.935Edirne360.41119.773224.680Erzurum673.297134.3774.864Eskişehir140.6788.5922.613Halep576.32040.84321.954Harput446.37979.821971Hüdavendigâr474.11460.11974.927İçil102.0343412.507İzmit226.85955.85240.048Kale-i Sultaniye149.9032.4748.550Kastamonu737.3028.95920.958Karahisar-ı Sahib277.6597.439632Karesi359.8048.65397.497Kayseri184.29250.17426.590Konya750.71212.97125.150Kostantiniyye560.43482.880205.752Menteşe188.9161219.923Kütahya303.3484.5488.755Maraş152.64532.32234Niğde227.1004.93658.312Sivas939.735147.09975.324Trabzon921.12838.899161.574Urfa149.38416.7182Van179.38067.7921Zor65.77023245Total13.390.000 (83,02%)1.173.422 (7,28%)1.564.939 (9,70%)Total16.128.361
1866 Danube Vilayet census
In 1865, 658,600 (40,51%) Muslims and 967,058 (59,49%) non-Muslims, including females, were living in the province excluding Niş sanjak and 569,868 (34,68%) Muslims, apart from the immigrants and 1,073,496 (65,32%) non-Muslims in 1859–1860. Half the Muslims were refugees from a population exchange of Christians and Muslims with Russia. Before the establishment of the Danube Vilayet, some 250,000–300,000 Muslim immigrants from Crimea and Caucasus had been settled in this region from 1855 to 1864. Another 200–300,000 male and female Circassian and Crimean Tatar refugees settled in 1862–1878 were to a degree excluded from the 1866 census count.
Male population of the taxable population of the, Danube Vilayet: 1866 censussancakMuslimNon-MuslimRusçuk138,69295,834Varna58,68920,769Vidin25,338124,567Sofya24,410147,095Tirnova71,645104,273Tulça39,13317,929Niş54,510100,425Total412,417610,892
Percentage of communities in towns from the male population in 1866 according to Ottoman tezkere: Town Bulgarians Muslims RomaArmeniansJewsVidin345268Sofya3839420Lom583535Dupnice3846511Plevne474552Rusçuk3852245Şumnu 4051152Varna4940182Silistre3062241 In 1873, 17,96% of the population of the province were living in the urban areas.
1874 Danube Vilayet census
According to the 1874 census, there were 963,596 (42,22%) Muslims and 1,318,506 (57,78%) non-Muslims in the Danube Province excluding Nış sanjak. Together with the sanjak of Nish the population consisted of 1,055,650 (40,68%) Muslims and 1,539,278 (59,32%) non-Muslims in 1874. Muslims were the majority in the sanjaks of Rusçuk, Varna and Tulça, while the non-Muslims were in majority in the rest of the sanjaks.
Eastern Rumelia census
Census in Eastern Rumelia of 1878:Bŭlgarii︠a︡ 1300-institut︠s︡ii i dŭrzhavna tradit︠s︡ii︠a︡: dokladi na tretii︠a︡ Kongres na Bŭlgarskoto istorichesko druzhestvo, 3-5 oktomvri 1981, p. 326 Community (1878 census) Population Percentage Bulgarians 571,231 70.3% Muslims 174,759 21.4% Greeks 42,516 5.2% Roma (Gypsies) 19,524 Jews 4,177 Armenians 1,306
Census of Eastern Rumelia in 1880: