Demographics of the Ottoman Empire

This article is about the demographics of the Ottoman Empire, including population density, ethnicity, education level, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1520	11,692,480	—
1566	15,000,000	+28.3%
1683	30,000,000	+100.0%
1831	27,230,660	−9.2%
1856	35,350,000	+29.8%
1881–93	17,388,604	−50.8%
1905	20,884,000	+20.1%
1906	20,975,345	+0.4%
1919	14,629,000	−30.3%

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."[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 5 residents.[2]

• 
  Town population in the Balkans in the 16th century

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.

[3]
Area	Muslim	E. Orthodox	All Gypsies	Jews	Armenians
Rumeli Eyalet	337001	686991	25126	9955	2099
Çatalca rural	848	2592
Silivri	887
Midya	127
Terkos	794
Çekmeceıkebır	464
Çekmeceısagır	403
Tiirkeşçıttiığı	29
Tekturdağı	3773	7727	57
Inecik	812	836	24
Malkara	1511	4010	64
Gelibolu	4179	6613
Şarköy	962	7752
Bergos	1860	3154	32	51
Çorlu	971	1938	45	73
Marmara Ereğlisi	177	554	24
Babayiatik	542	1253
Havas Mahmutpaşa	684	896
Hayrabolu	2203	1051
Evreşe	666	956	39
Inoz	274	2327	62
Keşan	850	4557	72
Çisriergene	1929	8886
Ipsala	955	1512
Edirne	18487	16789	750	1541	1443
Ada rural	1090	5214
Çdke rural	1990	4803
Üsküdar and Manastır rural	2333	17040
Tırfelli rural		181
Çisri Muştafa Paşa	914	1329
Çirmen	1910	1262
Çirpan	938	4619
Ahlçelebi	6080	4107
Akçakizanllk	7195	8097	748
Zağraiatık	5586	12782
Dimetoka	7525	10852
Ferecık	2385	3473
Meğri	692	833
Gumülcine	30517	5339	1712
Yenıceikerasu	7582	2540	1273
Uzuncaabat Hasköy	9941	10118	633
Sultanyeri	6251	51	89
Drama	8618	3077	1007
Cığlacik and San Şaban	4986	131	54
Tırnova	3051
Hutaliç rural	7543
Torluk rural	5108
Sahra rural	2678
Filibe	10920	44959	2021	344	344
Pazarcik	3269	14083	3653	119
Ihtaman	408	1501	83
Sofya	4161	39692	886
Şehirköy	1341	27643	379
Pravişte	4718	2596	259
Bereketlu	967	170
Kavala	1514	102
Berkofca	1125	13549	382
Cuma Pazari	3733	916
Egri Bucak	1482	1294
Çarşamba	2350	1717
Serfıce	682	2260
Tikveş	4454	6104
Petriç	3893	3869
Radovişte	3504	4907
Nevrekop	8539	8620	739
Melnik	918	4182	260
Timurhisar	3229	6611	494
Zihne	2867	10017	642
Siroz	4459	16596	1761	248
Selanik	12368	21669	511	5667
Yenice Vardar	6811	4766
Vodine	3996	3883
Karaferiye	1680	11052
Ağustos	151	737
Perzinek	215	4436
Iznebol	131	5152	151
Ustrumca	3674	5344	546
Toyran	4631	3076	334
Karadağ	2722	1452	108
Avrathisar	3176	6949	332
Dupniçe	3528	11642
Radomir	789	7211
Ivraca	1463	14282	262
Kratova, Ivraniye, Palangai, Eğridere	4749	21068	627
Vidin, Akçar, Karalom, Belgratçik, Çunarka, Godgoskaca and Esterlik rural	6695	24846	1289
Köprülü	4767	12718	390
Perlepe	3683	14489	450
Samokov	816	11973	11	94
Köstendil	3032	14070	232	145
Behişte	3202	2176	89
Kesriye	3313	16124	335
Persepe	568	2162
Manastir	6723	24550	705	1163
Florina	5596	5253	365
Istrova	1658	1176	57
Hotpeşte	2081	3630	43
Nasliç	2693	5748	275
Iştip	6920	9826
Koçana	3374	6112
Kumanova	2276	10819
Silistre Eyalet	150970	96342	8779	178
Niğbolu Sancak	110304	81489	5804	178
Selvı	7734
Izladi	2580
Etripolu	545
Lofça	12404
Plevne	6031
Rahova	1831
Sipre	235
Niğbolu	3893	8598	1190
Ziştovi	3897	5760	629
Rusçuk	16165	7196	1437
Yanbolu	1942	1507
Nevahii Yanbolu	1444	1237
Zağraicedıt	3292	4745
Yenicei Kızılağaç, Hatunili	499	1502
Niš	1862	18378	575	178
Prizren	9488	2867	366
Yehud	2768	2479	44
Tırguvişte	2404	2323	3
Gude	7574		100
Usküp	9660	11700	900
Kalkandelen	11766	8043	472
Kirçova	2286	5154	88
Silistre Sancak	40666	14853	2975
Varna	3427	1573	167
Isakçi	553	605	39
Minkalye	694	15	37
Balçik and Kuvarna	1766	630	125
Karkkala rural		52
Maçin	991	821	25
Köstence	1417	386	41
Hırsova	1391	986	21
Tulça	472	592	19
Kannabad	5065	1454	358
Babadağ	1171	1661	38
Doskasri	1114	596	273
Aydos	5790	845	449
Yenipazar	3482	948	300
Pravadı	4530	1465	231
Umurfakih	1140		146
Kozluca	1840	1163	146
Pazarcık	3515	761	287
Çardak	2308	300	223
Republic of Bulgaria borders[4]	181455	296769	17474	702	344

1844 Ottoman Census

District	Muslims[5]
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 Greek Macedonians, 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 Gypsies.[6][7]

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. Somehow, these changes politicized the population counts.

• Population maps 1893-96
• 
  1893-96, Muslim, Greek and Armenian population
• 
  1893-96, Armenian distribution (in color)
• 
  1893-96, Green shows Muslim majority, red shows Armenian majority.

Ottoman Census Values
Administrative Unit	Total Pop	Armenian Pop	Armenian %
Van Vilayet	132,007	55,051	41.70%
Bitlis Vilayet	338,642	108,050	31.91%
Izmit	228,443	44,953	19.68%
Erzurum Vilayet	637,015	120,147	18.86%
Dersaadet	903,482	166,185	18.39%
Vilayet of Mamuret-ul-Aziz	466,579	83,394	17.87%
Diyarbekir Vilayet	414,657	60,175	14.51%
Sivas Vilayet	980,876	129,085	13.16%
Adana Vilayet	398,764	36,695	9.20%
Halep Vilayet	819,238	70,663	8.63%
Ankara Vilayet	1,018,744	81,437	7.99%
Hüdavendigar Vilayet	1,454,294	70,262	4.83%
Trabzon Vilayet	1,164,595	49,782	4.27%
Sehremanati Mülhakati	88,306	3,074	3.48%
Edirne	985,962	18,458	1.87%
Çatalca	61,001	979	1.60%
Biga	143,904	1,842	1.28%
Konya	1,022,834	10,972	1.07%
Aydin	1,478,424	15,229	1.03%
Zor	51,270	474	0.92%
Kastamonu	968,884	6,652	0.69%
Kudüs	258,860	1,610	0.62%
Beyrut	620,763	2,921	0.47%
Suriye	551,135	1,478	0.27%
Selanik	1,038,953	51	0.00%
Cezayir-i Bahri Sefid	286,736	10	0.00%
Manastir	711,466	22	0.00%
		1,139,651

1905-1906 Ottoman census

• Population maps 1905-1906, 1914
• 
  1905-1906 (printed in 1911)
• 
  Muslim population in the Ottoman vilayets (1907)
• 
  Muslim population in the Ottoman sanjaks

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.[8] 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 census[9]-[10]
Millet	Inhabitants	% of total
Muslims^a	15,498,747 - 15,518,478	76.09% - 74.23%
Greeks^b	2,823,065 - 2,833,370	13.86% - 13.56%
Armenians^c	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%
Protestants^d	53,880	0.26%
Others^d	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 doesn't include Protestants and "others".

1914 Ottoman census

• 
  1914, Muslim, Greek and Armenian population.

1914 Official Census Values (Male-Female Aggregated)[11]
Province	Muslim	Armenian	Greek
Adana	341.903 (74.8%)	52.650 (13%)	8.974 (2.2%)
Ankara	877.285 (92.5%)	51.556 (5.4%)	20.240 (2.1%)
Antalya	235.762 (95.01%)	630 (.02%)	12.385 (4.97%)
Aydın (İzmir)	1.249.067	20.287	299.097
Bitlis	309.999 (72.5%)	117.492 (27.5%)	0
Bolu	399.281	2.970	5.115
Canik	265.950	27.319	98.739
Çatalca	20.048	842	36.791 (63.78%)
Diyarbekir	492.101	65.850	1.935
Edirne	360.411	19.773	224.680
Erzurum	673.297	134.377	4.864
Eskişehir	140.678	8.592	2.613
Halep	576.320	40.843	21.954
Harput	446.379	79.821	971
Hüdavendigâr	474.114	60.119	74.927
İçil	102.034	341	2.507
İzmit	226.859	55.852	40.048
Kale-i Sultaniye	149.903	2.474	8.550
Kastamonu	737.302	8.959	20.958
Karahisar-ı Sahib	277.659	7.439	632
Karesi	359.804	8.653	97.497
Kayseri	184.292	50.174	26.590
Konya	750.712	12.971	25.150
Kostantiniyye	560.434	82.880	205.752
Menteşe	188.916	12	19.923
Kütahya	303.348	4.548	8.755
Maraş	152.645	32.322	34
Niğde	227.100	4.936	58.312
Sivas	939.735	147.099	75.324
Trabzon	921.128	38.899	161.574
Urfa	149.384	16.718	2
Van	179.380	67.792	1
Zor	65.770	232	45
Total	13.390.000	1.173.422	1.564.939

1866 Danube Vilayet census

In 1865, 658600 (40,51%) Muslims and 967058 (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.[12] Half the Muslims were refugees from a population exchange of Christians and Muslims with Russia. Before the establishment of the Danube Vilayet, some 250000-300000 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.[5]

Male population of the taxable population of the Danube Vilayet:

1866 census[5]
sancak	Muslim	Non-Muslim
Rusçuk	138692	95834
Varna	58689	20769
Vidin	25338	124567
Sofya	24410	147095
Tirnova	71645	104273
Tulça	39133	17929
Niş	54510	100425
Total	412417	610892

Percentage of communities in towns from the male population in 1866 according to Ottoman teskere:[13]

Town	Bulgarians	Muslims	Gypsies	Armenians	Jews
Vidin	34	52	6		8
Sofya	38	39	4		20
Lom	58	35	3		5
Dupnice	38	46	5		11
Plevne	47	45	5		2
Rusçuk	38	52	2	4	5
Şumnu	40	51	1	5	2
Varna	49	40	1	8	2
Silistre	30	62	2	4	1

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 963596 (42,22%) Muslims and 1318506 (57,78%) non-Muslims in the Danube Province excluding Nış sanjak. Together with the sanjak of Nish the population consisted of 1055650 (40,68%) Muslims and 1539278 (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.[14]

Eastern Rumelia census

Census in Eastern Rumelia of 1878:[15]

Community (1878 census)	Population	Percentage
Bulgarians	571231	70.3%
Muslims	174759	21.4%
Greeks	42516	5.2%
Roma (Gypsies)	19524
Jews	4177
Armenians	1306

Census of Eastern Rumelia in 1880:[16]

Ethnicity (1880 census)	Population	Percentage
Bulgarians	590000	72.3%
Turks	158000	19.4%
Roma (Gypsies)	19500	2.4%
others	48000	5.9%

The ethnic composition of the population of Eastern Rumelia, according to the provincial census taken in 1884, was the following:[17]

Ethnicity (1884 census)	Population	Percentage
Bulgarians	681,734	70.0%
Turks	200,489	20.6%
Greeks	53,028	5.4%
Roma (Gypsies)	27,190	2.8%
Jews	6,982	0.7%
Armenians	1,865	0.2%

Population of Eastern Rumelia according to the 1880 census:[18]

kaza	Bulgarians	Turks	Greeks	Roma	Jews	Armenians
Plovdiv	127.619	36.848	14.265	4736	1185	806
Haskovo	74.656	55.334	1138	2116	246
Stara Zagora	124.666	27.115	35	2811	431
Sliven	96.425	12.463	14.184	3685	845	276
Pazardzhik	94.873	14.898	676	3487	1112	152
Burgas	36.997	28.091	11.798	2686	358	71

1903-1904 census of Salonika Vilayet

Population of the Salonika vilayet: [13]

sanjak	Muslims	Greeks	Bulgarians	Vlachs	Jews
Saloniki	220.000	190.000	85.000	15.000	48.000
Serres	145.000	78.000	130.000	4000	2000
Drama	119.000	22.000	4000		1000

Ethnoreligious estimates and registered population

Eyalets

The Muslim population in Silistra subprovince was most numerous (55.17%), while in the Vidin and Nis subprovinces the non-Muslim population constituted 75.59% and 81.18% respectively. Population of the eyalets (Silistra, Vidin and Niş) which constituted the establishment of the Danube Vilayet, according to the 1858 report of the British consul Edward Neale:[19]

Community	Population
Bulgarian Orthodox	910,735 (65%)
Muslim	430,485 (31%)
Vlach	25,000 (2%)
Greek	10,100 (1%)
Jewish	5,000 (0%)
Others	9,535 (1%)
TOTAL	1,390,855 (100%)

Danube Vilayet

The Danube Province was founded in 1864 and consisted of the subprovinces of Ruse, Varna, Tulcea, Tarnovo, Vidin, Sofia and Niş.[14] Two subprovinces (Sofia and Niş) were separated from the Danube Province, so that Niş sanjak was part of Prizren Vilayet in 1869-1874, while the detached Sofia Province was founded in 1876, and finally both Sofia and Niş were annexed to Adrianople and Kosovo Vilayets respectively in 1877.[14]

The entire population of the province, reached ca. 2,6 Millions, including 1 Million (40%) Muslims and 1.5 Million (60%) non-Muslims before the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, with the main national components consisting of Bulgarians and Turks.[14] New large communities of Circassians and Tatars were resettled in the province among the 250,000-300,000 Muslim refugees from Crimea and the Caucasus from 1855 to 1864; however, after the war of 1877-78, both the Muslim and Turkish population dropped by almost half,[14] leaving only 63 Circassians recorded in Bulgaria by 1880.[20]

The male population of the Danube Vilayet (excluding Niş sancak) in 1865, according to Kuyûd-ı Atîk (the Danube Vilayet printing press):[21]

Community	Rusçuk Sanjak	Vidin Sanjak	Varna Sanjak	Tırnova Sanjak	Tulça Sanjak	Sofya Sanjak	Danube Vilayet
Bulgar Millet	85,268 (38%)	93,613 (80%)	9,553 (18%)	113,213 (59%)	12,961 (22%)	142,410 (86%)	457,018 (56%)
Islam Millet	138,017 (61%)	14,835 (13%)	38,230 (74%)	77,539 (40%)	38,479 (65%)	20,612 (12%)	327,712 (40%)
Ulah Millet	0 (0%)	7,446 (6%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	7,446 (1%)
Ermeni Millet	926 (0%)	0 (0%)	368 (1%)	0 (0%)	5,720 (10%)	0 (0%)	7,014 (1%)
Rum Millet	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	2,639 (5%)	0 (0%)	2,215 (4%)	0 (0%)	4,908 (1%)
Yahudi Millet	1,101 (0%)	630 (1%)	14 (0%)	0 (0%)	1 (0%)	1,790 (1%)	3,536 (0%)
Muslim Gypsies	312 (0%)	245 (0%)	118 (0%)	128 (0%)	19 (0%)	766 (0%)	1,588 (0%)
Non-Muslim Gypsies	145 (0%)	130 (0%)	999 (2%)	1,455 (1%)	92 (0%)	786 (0%)	3,607 (0%)
TOTAL	225,769 (100%)	116,899 (100%)	51,975 (100%)	192,335 (100%)	59,487 (100%)	166,364 (100%)	812,829 (100%)

The male population of the Danube Vilayet (excluding Niş sanjak) in 1866-1873, according to the editor of the Danube newspaper Ismail Kemal:[4]

Community	Population
MUSLIMS	481,798 (42%)
- Established Muslims	392,369 (34%)
- Muslim settlers	64,398 (6%)
- Muslim Gypsies	25,031 (2%)
CHRISTIANS	646,215 (57%)
- Bulgarians	592,573 (52%)
- Greeks	7,655 (1%)
- Armenians	2,128 (0%)
- Catholics	3,556 (0%)
- other Christians	40,303 (4%)
JEWS	5,375 (0%)
NON-MUSLIM Gypsies	7,663 (1%)
TOTAL Danube Vilayet	1,141,051 (100%)

The male population of the Danube Vilayet (excluding Niş sanjak) in 1868, according to Kemal Karpat:[5]

Group	Population
Christian Bulgarians	490,467
Muslims	359,907

The male population of the Danube Vilayet (excluding Niş sanjak) in 1875, according to Tahrir-i Cedid (the Danube Vilayet printing press):[22]

Community	Rusçuk Sanjak	Vidin Sanjak	Varna Sanjak	Tırnova Sanjak	Tulça Sanjak	Sofya Sanjak	Danube Vilayet
Bulgar Millet	114,792 (37%)	131,279 (73%)	21,261 (25%)	148,713 (60%)	10,553 (12%)	179,202 (84%)	605,800 (54%)
Islam Millet	164,455 (53%)	20,492 (11%)	52,742 (61%)	88,445 (36%)	53,059 (61%)	27,001 (13%)	406,194 (36%)
Ermeni Millet	991 (0%)	0 (0%)	808 (1%)	0 (0%)	3,885 (4%)	0 (0%)	5,684 (1%)
Rum Millet	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	3,421 (4%)	494 (0%)	217 (0%)	0 (0%)	4,132 (0%)
Yahudi Millet	1,102 (0%)	1,009 (1%)	110 (0%)	0 (0%)	780 (1%)	2,374 (1%)	5,375 (0%)
Circassian Muhacirs	16,588 (5%)	6,522 (4%)	4,307 (5%)	0 (0%)	2,954 (3%)	202 (0%)	30,573 (3%)
Muslim Gypsies	9,579 (3%)	2,783 (2%)	2,825 (3%)	6,545 (3%)	139 (0%)	2,964 (1%)	24,835 (2%)
Non-Muslim Gypsies	1,790 (1%)	2,048 (1%)	331 (0%)	1,697 (1%)	356 (0%)	1,437 (1%)	7,659 (1%)
Vlachs, Catholics, etc.	500 (0%)	14,690 (8%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	15,512 (18%)	0 (0%)	30,702 (3%)
TOTAL	309,797 (100%)	178,823 (100%)	85,805 (100%)	245,894 (100%)	87,455 (100%)	213,180 (100%)	1,120,954 (100%)

The male population of the Danube Vilayet in 1876, according to the Ottoman officer Stanislas Saint Clair:[4]

Community	Population
Turk Muslims	457,018 (36%)
Other Muslims	104,639 (8%)
Bulgarian Christians	639,813 (50%)
Armenian Christians	2,128 (0%)
Vlach and Greek Christians	56,647 (4%)
Gypsies	8,220 (1%)
Jews	5,847 (0%)
TOTAL Danube Vilayet	1,274,282 (100%)

The total population of the Danube Vilayet (including Niş and Sofia sanjaks), according to the 1876 edition of Encyclopaedia Britannica:[23]

Group	Population
Bulgarians	1,500,000 (63%)
Turks	500,000 (21%)
Tatars	100,000 (4%)
Circassians	90,000 (4%)
Albanians	70,000 (3%)
Romanians	40,000 (2%)
Gypsies	25,000 (1%)
Russians	10,000 (0%)
Armenians	10,000 (0%)
Jews	10,000 (0%)
Greeks	8,000 (0%)
Serbs	5,000 (0%)
Germans, Italians, Arabs and others	1,000 (0%)
TOTAL Danube Vilayet	2,369,000 (100%)

Distribution of the population of towns in the Danube Vilayet in 1876 according to Aubaret (excl. Niş sancak)

The total Population of the Danube Vilayet (excluding Niş sanjak) in 1876, estimated by the French consul Aubaret from the register:[24][25]

Community	Population
MUSLIMS	1,120,000 (48%)
incl. Turks	774,000 (33%)
incl. Circassians	200,000 (8%)
incl. Tatars	110,000 (5%)
incl. Gypsies	35,000 (1%)
NON-MUSLIMS	1,233,500 (52%)
incl. Bulgarians	1,130,000 (48%)
incl. Gypsies	12,000 (1%)
incl. Greeks	12,000 (1%)
incl. Jews	12,000 (1%)
incl. Armenians	2,500 (0%)
incl. Vlachs and others	65,000 (3%)
TOTAL Danube Vilayet	2,353,000 (100%)

The total population of the two mainly Turkish sanjaks of the Danube Vilayet in 1876, according to the French consul Aubaret:[26]

Community	Varna Sanjak	Rusçuk Sanjak
Turks	92,800 (68%)	388,000 (57%)
Bulgarians	32,200 (24%)	229,500 (34%)
Circassians		33,000 (5%)
Gypsies	2,900 (2%)	23,500 (3%)
Greeks	6,842 (5%)
Jews		2,200 (0%)
Armenians		2,000 (0%)
Vlachs		1,000 (0%)
TOTAL	136,000 (100%)	680,000 (100%)

Adrianople Vilayet

Total population of the Adrianople Vilayet in 1878 according to the Turkish author Kemal Karpat:[5]

Group	POPULATION
Bulgarians	40% (526,691)
Other Christians	22% (283,603)
Muslims	39% (503,058)	-	TOTAL Adrianople Vilayet	100% (1,304,352)

Male population of the Filibe Sancak of the Adrianople Vilayet in 1876 according to the British R. J. Moore: [13] [27]

	Turks	Muslim Gypsies	Christian Gypsies	Bulgarians	Greeks	Armenians	Jews	KAZA TOTAL
Filibe kaza	28% (35,400)	4% (5,474)	0% (495)	63% (80,107)	3% (3,700)	0% (380)	1% (691)	100% (126,247)
Tatar Pazardzhik kaza	23% (10,805)	4% (2,120)	1% (579)	70% (33,395)	1% (300)	0% (94)	1% (344)	100% (47,637)
Hasköy kaza	55% (33,323)	3% (1,548)	0% (145)	42% (25,503)	0% (0)	0% (3)	0% (65)	100% (60,587)
Zagora kaza	20% (6,677)	3% (989)	0% (70)	75% (24,857)	0% (0)	0% (0)	2% (740)	100% (33,333)
Kazanlak kaza	46% (14,365)	4% (1,384)	0% (24)	48% (14,906)	0% (0)	0% (0)	1% (219)	100% (30,898)
Chirpan kaza	24% (5,157)	2% (420)	0% (88)	74% (15,959)	0% (0)	0% (0)	0% (0)	100% (21,624)
Sultan-Jeri kaza	97% (13,336)	1% (159)	0% (0)	2% (262)	0% (0)	0% (0)	0% (0)	100% (13,757)
Akcselebi kaza	59% (8,197)	3% (377)	0% (0)	38% (5,346)	0% (0)	0% (0)	0% (0)	100% (13,920)
TOTAL Filibe Sanjak	37% (127,260)	4% (12,471)	0% (1,401)	58% (200,335)	1% (4,000)	0% (477)	1% (2,059)	100% (348,000)

Male population of İslimiye sanjak of Adrianople Vilayet in 1873 according to Ottoman almanacs: [28]

Community	Population
Muslims	37,200 (47%)
Non-Muslims	46,961 (53%)
TOTAL Islimiye sanjak	100% (84,161)

Male population of İslimiye sanjak of Adrianople Vilayet in 1875 according to British R.J. Moore: [4]

Community	Population
Muslims	42% (44,747)
Non-Muslims	58% (60,854)
TOTAL Islimiye sanjak	100% (105,601)

Total population of the Sanjak of Gümülcine of the Adrianople Vilayet In the 19th century:

Sanjak	Muslims[29]	Christian Bulgarians	Christian Greeks
Gümülcine	206.914	20.671	15.241

Eastern Rumelia

Total population of the later Eastern Rumelia before and after the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78 (Drummons-Wolff to Salisbury, 26.09.1878) after forced migration:[5][13]

Population	1875	1878	1879
Muslim Turks	29% (220,000)	16% (90,000)	+100.000
Muslim Pomaks	3% (25,000)	4% (25,000)
Muslim Tatars	1% (10,000)	1% (8,000)
Muslim Circassians	1% (10,000)	0% (0)
Muslim Gyspies	3% (25,000)	3% (16,000)
Jews	1% (9,000)	1% (8,000)
Bulgarian Catholics	1% (9,000)	2% (9,000)
Bulgarian Exarchists	53% (400,000)	66% (380,000)
Grecophile Bulgrians	5% (35,000)	5% (30,000)
Greeks	5% (35,000)	5% (30,000)
Greek Vlachs	0% (2,000)	0% (2,000)
Greek Albanians	0% (2,000)	0% (2,000)
Armenians	0% (2,000)	0% (2,000)
TOTAL	100% (760,000)	100% (580,000)

Constantinople Vilayet

Population of Istanbul in 1885 according to Stanford Shaw (Male:female):[5]

Group	Born in	Born outside
Muslim	143.586(M:F 1:2)	241.324(M:F 2:1)
Greek Orthodox	68.764	83.977
Armenian Orthodox	78.679	70.991
Bulgarian	46	4331
Catholic	3722	2720
Jewish	42.363	1998
Protestant	225	594
Latin	609	473

Salonika Vilayet

Male population of some sanjaks in 1880 according to Earl Granville:[13]

Sanjak	Muslims	Greeks	Patriarchist Bulgarians	Exarchist Bulgarians	Vlachs	Jews
Siroz	54.436	31.820	28.053	25.335	2859	988
Salonika	95.669	61.434	43.099-50.000	15.975	4462	25.473

Male population of some sanjaks in 1878 according to Bulgarian Kusev and Gruev:[13]

Sanjak	Muslims	Bulgarians	Greeks	Vlachs	Gypsies	Pomaks
Siroz	29.344	90.895	17.226	1812	1170	13873
Salonika	39.441	126.000	13.279		1751	2862-8697

Total population of some sanjaks in 1881 according to Italian Hondros:[13]

Sanjak	Turks	Greeks	Bulgarians	Jews	Vlachs
Siroz	91.700	66.500	114.580	1520	4150

Total population of some sanjaks according to vice-consul Stanislas Recchioli in 1878:

Sanjak	Muslims[5]	incl. Turks	Christians
Drama	270.998	249.165	43.549

Total

Total population according to Abdolonyme Ubicini who based the statistics on the Ottoman census of 1844:[5]

community	in Europe	in Asia	in Africa
Turks	2,100,000 (14%)	10,700,000 (67%)
Greeks	1,000,000 (6%)	1,000,000 (6%)
Armenians	400,000 (3%)	2,000,000 (12%)
Jews	70,000 (0%)	80,000 (0%)
Slavs	6,200,000 (40%)
Romanians	4,000,000 (26%)
Albanians	1,500,000 (10%)
Tatars	16,000 (0%)	20,000 (0%)
Arabs		900,000 (6%)	3,800,000 (100%)
Assyrians and Chaldeans		235,000 (1%)
Druzes		30,000 (0%)
Kurds		1,000,000 (6%)
Turcomans		85,000 (1%)
Gypsies	214,000 (1%)
Muslims	4,550,000 (29%)	12,650,000 (79%)	3,800,000 (100%)
Christians	10,640,000 (69%)	3,260,000 (20%)
Jews	70,000 (0%)	80,000 (0%)
Total	15,500,000 (100%)	16,050,000 (100%)	3,800,000 (100%)

An 1876 map of the Russian diplomat Teplov on the Muslim and Christian population in some kazas concerning the Constantinople Conference.

European part

Estimates in some eighteen sources show that the Muslims constituted about 35% of the total Balkan population during the first half of the 19th century, while in the second half of the century the proportion grew to 43%.[5] According to thirty three sources the proportion of Turks in the European provinces during the 19th century ranges from 11 to 24 percent; of Greeks from 9 to 16 percent; of Bulgarians from 24 to 39 percent.[5] The Turks made up two thirds of the Muslims in the Danube Vilayet and most of them in the Adrianople Vilayet and Salonika Vilayet.[5] In the more western vilayets the Muslims were a majority, which consisted usually of Slavs and Albanians. In the Ioannina Vilayet the Orthodox Christians were dominant, a majority of whom were ethnically Albanian according to Ottoman officials and were also three fourths of the Muslims.[30] In 1867 Salaheddin Bey estimated 595,000 Circassian newcomers in the European part and 400,000 Armenians in European part.[5] Practically all of the Circassians began migrating to Anatolia after the Russian military advances in the last quarter of the century.[5]

Total population of the European part in 1831 according to David Urquhart:[31][5]

Community	Population
Muslim Turks	700,000 (7%)
Muslim Albanians	1,066,000 (10%)
Muslim Bosniaks, Tuleman, Pomaks	2,000,000 (19%)
Christian Greeks(excl. Greece)	1,180,000 (11%)
Christian Slavs	4,000,000 (37%)
Christian Albanians	530,000 (5%)
Christian Vlachs	600,000 (6%)
Jews, Armenians, etc.	600,000 (6%)
TOTAL	10,676,000 (100%)

Men of the Albanian tribe at the feast of Saint Nicholas at Bzheta in Shkreli territory, 1908

Total population of the European part in the 1840s according to Auguste Viquesnel:[32]

Ethnic group	Total	Muslims	Christians	Jews
Moldo-Wallachians	4,112,105 (27%)		3,976,825	135,280
Bulgarians	3,000,000 (20%)	60,000	2,940,000
Ottomans, Yörüks, Tatars	2,100,000 (14%)	2,100,000
Albanians	1,400,000 (9%)	1,250,000	150,000
Bosnians and Herzegovians	1,300,000 (9%)	600,000	700,000
Serbs	1,004,000 (7%)	15,000	987,600	1,400
Greeks	975,000 (6%)	15,000	960,000
Armenians	400,000 (3%)		400,000
Gypsies	214,000 (1%)	140,000
Croats	200,000 (1%)		200,000
Montenegrins	100,000 (1%)		100,000
Jews	70,000 (0%)			70,000
Cossacks	9,000 (0%)		9,000
TOTAL	15,184,105 (100%)	4,180,000	10,723,425	206,680

Total population of European part in 1872 according to the military attaché in Constantinople Ritter zur Helle von Samo based on Ottoman province yearbooks:[5]

Vilayet	Muslims	Non-Muslims
Istanbul (Europe)	285,100 (42%)	400,100 (58%)
Adrianople	503,058 (39%)	801,294 (61%)
Scutari	100,000 (44%)	128,000 (56%)
Prizren	728,286 (61%)	470,868 (39%)
Danube	817,200 (41%)	1,199,230 (59%)
Janina	249,699 (35%)	460,802 (65%)
Salonica	429,410 (35%)	807,928 (65%)
Bosnia	630,456 (51%)	612,000 (49%)
Crete	90,000 (43%)	120,000 (57%)
Istanbul (Asia)	455,500 (57%)	340,500 (43%)
Serbia	4,965 (0%)	1,314,424 (100%)
United Principalities	3,000 (0%)	4,497,000 (100%)
Montenegro	0 (0%)	100,000 (100%)

Total population of the European part in 1876 according to Ernst Georg Ravenstein who relied on several sources including Ottoman statistics:[33][5]

Community	Population
Muslim Turks and Tatars	1,388,000 (17%)
Muslim Bulgarians	790,000 (10%)
Muslim Albanians	723,000 (9%)
Muslim Serbs	442,000 (5%)
Muslim Circassians	144,000 (2%)
Muslim Gypsies	52,000 (1%)
Muslim Greeks	38,000 (0%)
Muslim Arabs	3,000 (0%)
Muslim foreigners	5,000 (0%)
Non-Muslim Bulgarians	2,071,000 (25%)
Non-Muslim Greeks	1,082,000 (13%)
Non-Muslim Serbs	672,000 (8%)
Non-Muslim Albanians	308,000 (4%)
Non-Muslim Romanians	200,000 (2%)
Non-Muslim Armenians	100,000 (1%)
Jews	72,000 (1%)
Non-Muslim foreigenrs	60,000 (1%)
Non-Muslim Gypsies	52,000 (1%)
Non-Muslim Russians	10,000 (0%)
TOTAL	8,207,000 (100%)

Total population of some sanjaks in 1877 according to Russian diplomat Teplov:[5][34]

Sanjak	Bulgarians	Non-Bulgarians	Muslims	Non-Muslims
Vidin	263.000	131.600	39.723	333.317
Tırnova	188.500	112.000	68.199	328.390
Niş	283.000	148.100	72.188	36.0559
Sofia	297.500	189.000	57.789	428.949
Rusçuk	201.025	354.324	268824	290626
Varna	36.000	74.100	64.621	45.875
Tulça	40.570	188.930	103.328	116.203
Total (Danube)	1.310.695	1.198.054	674.672	1.903.919
Islimiye	100.500	186.400	64.459	213.066
Philippopolis	382.500	564.600	318.052	628.770
Total	1.793.695	1.949.054	1.057.183	2.745.755

Population of the sanjaks according to a Greek author: [13]

Sanjak	Greeks	Bulgarians	Muslims	Others
Tekirdağ	117.600		19.000	32.000
Gelibolu	98.900		35.000	10.000
Adrianople	171.000	78.320	125.000	35.000
Islimiye	37.100	54.200	54.300	30.000
Filibe	32.000	180.000	120.000	38.000
Drama	42.000	1000	35.000	30.000
Salonika	210.500	59.500	140.000	70.000
Siroz	175.000	20.000	84.000	15.000
Bitola	278.000	60.000	90.000	20.000

Male Population of the parts of the Danube, Adrianople and Salonika vilayets corresponding to the modern Republic of Bulgaria in 1875 according to Totev:[4]

Place	Muslims	Non-Muslims
Total	687.998	1.053.387
Danube Vilayet	451.680	712.842

Special Reports

Arnold J. Toynbee

During the World War I; The treatment of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire was a book by Viscount Bryce and Arnold J. Toynbee which compiled statements from eyewitnesses from other countries including Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland, who similarly attested to Armenians in the Ottoman Empire during 1915-1916. The publication presents Arnold J. Toynbee's analysis on Armenian population in the Ottoman Empire. A summary table of his analysis included in the page 199. In the "vilayet of Van", there were two portions, portions in modern use corresponds to county. As explained by Arnold J. Toynbee in the footprint at page 199, he developed his analysis by excluding certain portions of the province where he said "Armenians were a minor". Arnold Toynbee in finding the ratio of Armenians in vilayet of Van; he removed the values originating from portions of Van (listed in the foot print) where Armenians were in minority. The presented table in page 1999 shows the re-calculated values by Arnold J. Toynbee of these selected provinces using values of the parts (counties, sanjacks) which Armenians were not in minority. The presented map shows the re-calculated values of the stated provinces using values where Armenians are not in minority.

• 
  Ethnic values of the Six vilayets according to presented data.

See also

• Subdivisions of the Ottoman Empire

Articles discussing the demographics of the Ottoman Empire:

• Demographics of Turkey
• Ottoman Armenian population
• History of the Jews in the Ottoman Empire
• Demographics of Kosovo

References

1. Garnett, Lucy Mary Jane. Turkish Life in Town and Country. G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1904. p. 1.
2. 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.
3. Karpat, K.H. (1985). Ottoman population, 1830-1914: demographic and social characteristics. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Pres.
4. [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 Institute
5. Karpat, K.H. (1985). Ottoman population, 1830-1914: demographic and social characteristics. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Pres.
6. (Karpat 1978, pp. 237–274) harv error: no target: CITEREFKarpat1978 (help)
7. (Shaw 1978, pp. 323–338) harv error: no target: CITEREFShaw1978 (help)
8. Karpat 1985
9. Studies on Ottoman social and political history, Kemal H. Karpat, p.766, 2002
10. History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey, Stanford Jay Shaw, p.241, 1977
11. "1914 Ottoman Census table from" (PDF).
12. "Makale Takip Sistemi Mobile". Archived from the original on 2018-08-06. Retrieved 2017-01-25.
13. Demeter, Gabor. "Ethnic maps as political advertisements and instruments of symbolic nation-building and their role in influencing decision-making from Berlin (1877-1881), to Bucharest (1913)". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
14. KOYUNCU, Aşkın. "Population And Demographics In The Danube Province (1864-1877)". www.turkishstudies.net. Archived from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2018-06-06.
15. Bŭlgarii︠a︡ 1300-institut︠s︡ii i dŭrzhavna tradit︠s︡ii︠a︡: dokladi na tretii︠a︡ Kongres na Bŭlgarskoto istorichesko druzhestvo, 3-5 oktomvri 1981, p. 326
16. "Eтнически състав на населението в България. Методологически постановки при установяване на етническия състав" (in Bulgarian). MIRIS - Minority Rights Information System. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
17. "6.1 European population committee (CDPO)". Council of Europe. p. II. The Demographic Situation of Ethnic/minority Groups 1. Population Size and Growth.
18. "Full text of "Bulgarien und Ostrumelien: Mit besonderer Berücksichtigung des Zeitraumes von 1878-1886, nebst ..."".
19. (PDF). pp. 681–682 http://www.turkishstudies.net/Makaleler/880266314_38KoyuncuAşkın-trh-675-737.pdf. Missing or empty |title= (help)
20. Kalionski, Alexei. Communities, Identities and Migrations in Southeast Europe Collected Articles. Anamnesis. ISBN 978-619-90188-4-2, p. 48
21. (PDF). p. 695 http://www.turkishstudies.net/Makaleler/880266314_38KoyuncuAşkın-trh-675-737.pdf. Missing or empty |title= (help)
22. (PDF). p. 717 http://www.turkishstudies.net/Makaleler/880266314_38KoyuncuAşkın-trh-675-737.pdf. Missing or empty |title= (help)
23. Kellogg, Day Otis (1876). Encyclopædia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and General Literature. J.M. Stoddart. p. 462.
24. Suleiman, Yasir (2013-12-16). Language and Identity in the Middle East and North Africa. Routledge. p. 102. ISBN 9781136787843.
25. ENGİN DENİZ TANIR. THE MID-NINETEENTH CENTURY OTTOMAN BULGARIA FROM THE VIEWPOINTS OF THE FRENCH TRAVELERS A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY. pp. 52–55.
26. ENGİN DENİZ TANIR. THE MID-NINETEENTH CENTURY OTTOMAN BULGARIA FROM THE VIEWPOINTS OF THE FRENCH TRAVELERS A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY.
27. More, R.J., Under the Balkans. Notes of a visit to the district of Philippopolis in 1876. London, 1877.
29. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2017-01-25.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
30. Gawrych, George. The Crescent and the Eagle: Ottoman Rule, Islam and the Albanians, 1874-1913, p.24
31. David Urquhart, Turkey and Its Resources, Its Municipal Organization and Free Trade (London, 1833), pp. 272-73,
32. ENGİN DENİZ TANIR. THE MID-NINETEENTH CENTURY OTTOMAN BULGARIA FROM THE VIEWPOINTS OF THE FRENCH TRAVELERS A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY. p. 49.
33. E. G. Ravenstein, "Distribution of the Population in the Part of Europe Overrun by Turks," The Geographical Magazine 3 (October 1876)
34. 1877-1878 Osmanlı-Rus Harbi Öncesinde Şarkî Rumeli Nüfusu

Bibliography

• Shaw, Stanford Jay; Shaw, Ezel Kural (1977). History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey. Cambridge University Press.
• Shaw, Stanford. 1978. The Ottoman Census System and Population, 1831-1914. International Journal of Middle East Studies (9):323-338.
• Karpat, Kemal. 1978. Ottoman Population Records and the Census of 1881/82-1893. International Journal of Middle East Studies (9):237-274.
• L. Kinross, The Ottoman Centuries: The Rise and Fall of the Turkish Empire, 1979
• M. Kabadayı, Inventory for the Ottoman Empire / Turkish Republic 1500–2000
• Mutlu, Servet (2003). "LATE OTTOMAN POPULATION AND ITS ETHNIC DISTRIBUTION" (PDF). Turkish Journal of Population Studies. 25: 3–38.