Türkiye’s youth population has climbed to 12.7 million, cementing its status as Europe’s largest youth capital and effectively outnumbering the entire populations of 117 countries, new data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) reveals.
TÜİK defines the youth population as people aged 15 to 24. Globally, this age group numbered approximately 1.2 billion in 2025, accounting for 15.6 percent of the world’s estimated 8.2 billion people.
In Türkiye, 12.7 million people fall within the 15-24 age bracket, representing 14.8 percent of the country’s total population of 86.1 million.
The figures underline the country’s relatively young demographic profile at a time when many European nations are facing aging populations and declining birth rates.
Türkiye’s youth population alone is larger than the total populations of 117 out of 194 countries. Among the countries with fewer people than Türkiye’s youth cohort are Tunisia, with a population of around 12.3 million, the United Arab Emirates with 11.3 million, and Portugal with 10.4 million.
The country also ranks first in Europe by the size of its youth population. The closest European countries are the United Kingdom, with about 8.3 million people aged 15-24, followed by Germany with 8 million and Italy with 6 million. Türkiye’s youth population also exceeds the total populations of 19 of the European Union’s 27 member states, including Greece, Belgium and Hungary.
Demographers generally view a large youth population as a significant asset for long-term economic growth, labor force expansion and technological innovation, provided that countries can create sufficient education, employment and skills development opportunities for younger generations.
