Turkey: Youth constitute 15.6% of population

ISTANBUL

Turkey's youth's share in the total population was 15.6% in 2019, down 0.2 percentage points on a yearly basis, the country's statistical authority announced on Friday.

The country had 12.95 million people aged 15-24, in a total population of 83.15 million last year, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) said.

The institute noted this young population will drop in the coming decades, down to 14.8% in 2023, 14% in 2030, 13.4% in 2040, 11.8% in 2060 and 11.1% in 2080.

This ratio was 19.4% in 2000 and 17% in 2010, and is expected to drop to 14.8% next year, according to data.

The ratio of young men to young women is 51.3% to 48.7% in 2019, it noted.

The youth unemployment rate was 25.4% last year -- 22.5% in men and 30.6% in women.

Last year, the youth employment rate was 33.1%. This ratio was 43.4% for young males and 22.6% for young females in 2019.

TurkStat noted: "17.7% of young people were employed in agriculture sector, 28.2% in industry sector and 54.1% of them were employed in service sector in 2019."

More than half of young people in the country (56.7%) said they were happy last year, up from 55.4% in the previous year.

The institute added: "Health was the first value as a source of happiness for young people with 52.3% in 2019. This was followed by success with 24.2% and love with 15.1%."

While 73% of young people were satisfied with their job, 62% of them said they were satisfied with the education they received.

Official figures also showed 92.4% of all young population had internet access in 2019.

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey, dedicated May 19 to the youth of Turkish nation as Youth and Sports Day, a national holiday that sees young people stage sporting and cultural activities and official ceremonies organized across the nation.