Number of illiterate women five times higher than number of illiterate men in Turkey

ISTANBUL

The number of illiterate women in Turkey is five times higher than the number of illiterate men, according to statistics released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK). 

While 5.4 percent of the overall population aged 25 and over is illiterate, this rate was 1.8 percent for men and 9 percent for women in 2015.

The proportion of high school and equivalent graduates aged 25 and over is 19.5 percent, while it is 23.5 percent for men and 15.6 percent for women. The proportion of total higher education graduates is 15.5 percent, while it is 17.9 percent for men and 13.1 percent for women.

According to household labor force survey results, in Turkey the employment rate of the population aged 15 and over was 46 percent, while it was 65 percent for men and 27.5 percent for women.

In the European Union, it was seen that Sweden had the highest employment rate for women at 74 percent, while Greece had the lowest employment rate for women at 42.5 percent in 2015. The average employment rate for women in all 28 EU countries was 60.4 percent.     

The Netherlands had the highest employment rate for men at 79 percent while Greece had the lowest employment rate for men at 59.3 percent. The average employment rate for men in EU countries was 70.8 percent. 

According to TÜİK’s household labor force survey results, in Turkey the labor force participation rate of the overall population aged 15 and over was 51.3 percent in 2015. This rate was 71.6 percent for men and 31.5 percent for women.

In terms of labor force participation rate by education status, it was seen that the higher education status of women, the more they participated in the labor force. The labor force participation rate was 16.1 percent for illiterate women, 26.6 percent for women who graduated at less than high school level, 32.7 percent for women who graduated from high school, 40.8 percent for women who graduated from vocational high school, and 71.6 percent for higher education graduate women.

According to income and living conditions survey results, working women who are higher education graduates have an average annual main job income of 29,238 Turkish Liras, while working women who graduated from high school had average annual main job income of 16,124 liras in 2015. Women who never completed school had an average annual main job income of just 8,528 liras.   

In politics, the proportion of female MPs was 4.5 percent in 1935 and has only increased to 14.7 percent after 82 years. There are currently 27 ministers in Turkey, but only one woman, Family and Social Policy Minister Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya. While the proportion of female mayors in local governments was 0.9 percent after the 2009 local election, this proportion rose to 2.9 percent in the 2014 local election.