But he says Arab. Which fair play, there were half a million Arabs in Turkey still in 1995 in southeastern Turkey. But 500K in 1995 is something the population had to grow to, given the general population boom around the Arab world since 1914. The population shrinking to a six of it's size is hard to imagine. Now, I'm looking at Syrian demographics online, and maybe migration into Syria has something to do with it, because Syria recorded 35%+ population increases decade after decade from 1930s onwards, with roughly a million to 2 million added per decade (with 2 million added in five years in the 1990s).
I think the Ottomans undergo a population growth spurt as increasing wealth draws down infant mortality, increases life span and health and improves food supply before rising education curbs the growth. The question becomes whether the Ottomans undergo a westernizing and secularization movement as Ataturk imposed upon Turkey or does it hold to another model? And is there an aspect of Arab culture or Islamic belief that will push for a higher birth rate? Many of the non-oil states are barely more than third world nations in most respects and now war torn on top of that. What wealth flowed in gets spent to benefit the few and the rest grind away. How successful will modernizing forces be to bring the Ottomans in line with contemporary Europe where birth rates are low, incomes high, religion wanes and education levels combined with political shifts leave us a socially democratic continent where many nations face zero to negative population growth, contrasted to the USA that tilts more rightward, has higher church attendance and birth rates but also has very high per capita GDP and a giant economy. And to most westerners the question will be how democratic will this Ottoman Empire become? How respectful of individual rights as well as community welfare? I find too few opinions that have the Ottomans survive, let along thrive.