The Ağrı Province is a province in eastern Turkey, bordering Iran to the east, Kars to the north, Erzurum to the northwest, Muş and Bitlis to the southwest, Van to the south, and Iğdır to the northeast. It has an area of 11,376 km² and a population of 542,022. A majority of the province's population is Kurdish. The region also has got a sizeable Azerbaijani minority. The provincial capital is Ağrı, situated on a high plateau. Until 1946 the capital of the province Doğubayazıt.The current Governor is Süleyman Elban.
Ağrı is named after the nearby Mount Ararat, a high stratovolcano, the highest mountain in Turkey and a national symbol to Armenians. It can be climbed from here and can be seen from parts of Azerbaijan, Iran, Georgia, and Armenia. The nearest town to the mountain is Doğubayazıt. 46% of the province is mountainous, 29% is plain, 18% is plateau, and 7% high meadow. As well as Ararat there are many other peaks over 3,000m, including Aladağlar and Tendürek. The plains are fertile, being covered in volcanic deposits, and are used for growing grains and grazing. Various tributaries of the Murat River flow through the area and water these plains. The high meadows are used for grazing. The weather here is very cold and the mountainsides are mainly bare. There are a number of important passes and routes through the mountains.
In the late 1920s, in an attempt to curb the Ararat rebellion,, the province was included into the First Inspectorate-General comprising the provinces of Mardin, Diyarbakır, Van, Elazıĝ, Bitlis, Hakkari, Şanlıurfa and Siirt. In September 1935 the province was transferred into the third Inspectorate General. The third UM span over the provinces of Erzurum, Artvin, Rize, Trabzon, Kars Gümüşhane, Erzincan and Ağrı. It was governed by a Inspector General seated in the city of Erzurum. The Inspectorate General was dissolved in 1952 during the Government of the Democrat Party.
The economy is mainly agricultural. People also live by breeding animals. Ağrı attracts tourists to the mountains, for climbing and trekking in summers, and skiing in winters. Places of interest include:
Ishak Pasha Palace in Doğubayazıt
Mount Tendürek in Doğubayazıt with what some claim to be the second-largest meteor crater in the world
The population of Ağrı is stable around 550,000 since 2000. Ağrı has the second highest total fertility rate in Turkey, with 3.69 children per woman. The crude birth rate is 28.3% in 2016, down from 31.1% in 2011. The crude death rate is 3.4%, down from 4.7% in 2011. The natural growth rate is 24.9%, down from 26.4% in 2011. Ağrı has a slightly higher infant mortality rate at 14.1%, down from 22.0% in 2011. Many people leave the remote rural areas of the province Ağrı in search for a better life in the metropolitan areas. That is the reason why the population growth is very minimal. A majority of its population, approximately 315,000 people, live in urban areas up from only 53,000 people in 1965. That means a sixfold increase of the urban population. The urbanization rate is still increasing. However, Ağrı remains predominantly agricultural because a large minority lives in rural areas and works in agriculture. The rural population grew from 193,000 in 1965 to 221,000 in 2017. Three districts with the largest populations have urban majorities, while the other five districts with the smallest populations, have rural majorities.
District
Total
Urban
Rural
Ağrı
149,581
117,431
32,150
Patnos
120,654
65,530
55,124
Doğubayazıt
120,320
79,349
40,971
Diyadin
42,340
20,387
21,953
Eleşkirt
33,940
16,042
17,898
Tutak
30,699
6,741
23,958
Taşlıçay
20,490
6,129
14,361
Hamur
18,261
3,198
15,063
Province
536,285
314,807
221,478
The suicide rate increased from 4.37 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2011 to 5.32 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2016.
