Turkey: Youth constitute 15.8% of population

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - The youth comprises 15.8% of the 82 million people living in Turkey, the country's statistical authority announced on Thursday.

There are 12.97 million people aged 15-24 in the country, TurkStat said.

The ratio of young men to young women is 51.2% to 48.8%.

TurkStat underlined that this young population will drop in the coming decades, decreasing to 13.4% in 2040, 11.8% in 2060 and 11.1% in 2080.

This ratio was 19.4% in 2000 and 17% in 2010, according to data.

The youth unemployment rate was 20.3% last year; 17.6% in men, 25.3% in women -- down from 20.8% in 2017.

Last year, the youth employment rate was 35%, up by 0.7 percentage points versus the previous year.

This ratio was 46.4% for young males and 23.4% for young females in 2018, an increase by 1 percentage point and 0.4 percentage point, respectively, compared with 2017.

"While young employment was analyzed by sectors, it was seen that 16.6% of young people were employed in the agriculture sector, 30% in industrial sector and 53.3% of them were employed in service sector," TurkStat noted.

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

The institute added: "Health was the first value as a source of happiness for young people with 50.5% in 2018. This was followed by success with 20% and love with 18.9%."

While 76% of young persons were satisfied with their job, 58.3% of them said that they were satisfied with the education they received.

Official figures also showed that 93% of all young population had internet access in 2018, up from 90% in 2018.

Turkey celebrates May 19 as the Commemoration of Ataturk, Youth and Sports Day.