Turkey's sustainable development indicators improve

By Yunus Girgin

ANKARA (AA) – Turkey’s sustainable development indicators showed marked improvement in the 2010-2019 period, according to a report released by the country’s statistical authority on Tuesday.

“As a result of inventory study, 131 indicators and definitions, including global indicators identified as currently available and also additional indicators considered as appropriate to measure relevant target, are published,” TurkStat said.

It said a set of 231 global indicators was formed to monitor achieving the goals and targets finalized at the UN Sustainable Development Summit in 2015.

Within the framework of the 2030 agenda for sustainable development, a total of 17 main goals and 169 targets were determined.

One of the most remarkable improvements was recorded in net official development assistances in 2010-2019.

The total amount of net official development assistance by Turkey as a donor country “increased by almost nine times” to $8.66 billion in 2019.

“While net official development assistance as a proportion of GDP was 0.12% in 2010, it increased to 1.14% in 2019,” read the report.

- Relative at risk of poverty rate falls

The relative at risk of poverty rate fell 2.5 percentage points from 16.9% in 2010 to 14.4% in 2019, TurkStat said.

The proportion of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion was 39.8% in 2019, decreasing 25.9 percentage points from 65.7% in 2010.

The proportion of people under 16 at risk of poverty or social exclusion plummeted from 70.8% in 2010 to 47.7% in 2019.

“The rate for young population representing the 16-24 age group was 69.7% in 2010 and decreased to 44.9% in 2019,” the report said.

Over the same period, the proportion of young people who are neither employed nor enrolled in education or training programs declined to 26% from 32.3%.

- R&D expenditure increases

The share of research and development expenditure in the gross domestic product (GDP) rose from 0.79% in 2010 to 1.06% in 2019, according to TurkStat data.

“The value added of manufacturing industry as a proportion of the GDP was 15.1% in 2010 and reached 18.3% in 2019 with an increase of 3.2 percentage points,” read the report.

- Maternal, under-5 mortality rate falls

Maternal mortality ratio was 13.1 per 100,000 live births in 2019, down from 16.7 in 2010.

“The under-five mortality rate was 11.2 in 2019, compared to 15.5 per thousand live births in 2010,” the report said.

Neonatal mortality rate – probability of death during the first 28 days of life – also decreased from 7.6 to 5.7 per 100,000 live births.

- Other indicators improve

School completion rates also increased at three levels, according to TurkStat.

“Primary, lower secondary and upper secondary school completion rates were 97.7%, 94.1% and 58.8% in 2014, respectively, while in 2019 they were 98.6%, 97.7% and 70.3%,” the report said.

Another sharp rise was seen in the ratio of electricity generation from renewable energy and wastes, which reached 43.9% in 2019 from 26.4% in 2010.

Internet usage has also spiked in Turkey, with the figure rising from 37.6% in 2010 to 74% in 2019.