Nearly one in four young people in Türkiye neither studying nor employed, data shows

ANKARA

 Nearly 23.3 percent of young people aged 15-24 in Türkiye were neither in education nor in employment last year, with the country’s youth population standing at 12.7 million out of a total population of 86.1 million, according to the latest youth statistics released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) on May 14.

Young people made up 14.8 percent of Türkiye’s population in 2025, according to data.

Around 30.9 percent of young women were classified as not in education, employment or training, compared with 16.3 percent of young men.

Youth unemployment stood at around 15.3 percent. However, unemployment among young women remained significantly higher.

Higher education enrollment also reflected gender differences.

Net enrollment in higher education stood at 46.3 percent, with women recording a substantially higher enrollment rate than men.

Migration data showed education remained the main reason young people relocated within the country, with nearly 449,000 moving for schooling purposes.

Youth labor force participation rose slightly to 47.6 percent, while the employment rate climbed to 40.3 percent.

More than half of employed young people worked in the services sector, followed by industry and agriculture.

Among employed youth, 75.5 percent said they were satisfied with their jobs, although only 52 percent expressed satisfaction with their income.

Overall, around 54.4 percent of young people described themselves as happy, while 11.9 percent said they felt unhappy.

While Türkiye continues to have a younger population than European Union member states, the share of young people in the population has been steadily declining, according to data.