1. Diverging pathsTurkey and South Africa

   Turkey and South Africa: similar GDP per person in 1990, 2.7 times apart in 2025

   TurkeySouth Africa

   Output per person a year, in 2021 dollars adjusted for price differences: $12,200 in Turkey and $10,800 in South Africa in 1990; $37,300 and $13,600 in 2025. Turkey grew 3.1-fold; South Africa rose 26%.

   Source: World Bank (WDI, ITU and UNESCO data); UN WPP 2024Open on the chart →

More findings

• Turkey: lower fertility than France
• Turkey now has more people than Germany
• South Africa now has more people than Italy
• Turkey: once more natives lived abroad; now there are 2.3 times as many foreign-born residents
• Turkey: the birth rate at ages 15–19 is 8 times lower than in 1985
• South Africa: in 2020–2023 net migration was higher than all 12 UN projections assumed

All findings →