Population and Demographic Data

The most striking break in Mesudiye's population history is the 55 percent drop from 547 people in 1925 to 244 in 1935. This sharp decline has several causes. First, the 1925 figure is based on "election count" data; such counts conducted for electoral purposes are known to yield higher figures than official censuses. Second, and more decisively, came the severe drought that affected Central Anatolia between 1928 and 1934. According to research by meteorologist Murat Türkeş, 1932 was recorded as Turkey's driest year in the 1930–1993 period. In the Karaman region, part of the Konya Closed Basin, annual rainfall remained below 400 mm and drought conditions have been documented to recur once every four years. In addition, the Great Depression of 1929 struck Turkey's agricultural economy deeply: prices of agricultural produce fell by 40–60 percent, and farmers lost much of their work and income.

After 1935 the population recovered steadily, rising to 388 in 1950 and 511 in 1970, reaching its second peak with 535 people in 1990. This growth ran parallel to the agricultural development experienced across Turkey, the expansion of irrigation opportunities (the Mesudiye Irrigation Cooperative was founded in 1973) and the general rise in population.

The decline that began after 1990 reflects the wave of rural migration affecting all of Turkey. While three-quarters of Turkey's population lived in rural areas in the 1950s, that ratio had fallen to 23 percent by 2023. Mechanization in agriculture, the fragmentation of land, the appeal of education and health facilities in the cities, and young people moving to urban centers in search of work caused population loss in the vast majority of villages tied to Karaman. The small-scale recovery in recent years (415 in 2025) is likely linked to the post-pandemic reverse-migration trend and returns of retirement-age residents.