Turkish people report overall satisfaction with their quality of life despite the fact that that there are major differences when it comes to education, employment, healthcare and public services, according to a new study.

The study, published by the Dublin-based European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound), finds that the majority of Turkish people are satisfied with their life in areas most important to them as individuals, for example, family life.  However, in areas for which the state is directly responsible, such as education and the standard of living, opinions differ vastly.  Also, the distribution of income between households varies considerably and almost half the population reports that they have had trouble paying for at least one household necessity during the year.

"This report highlights the complex picture of the social situation in modern-day Turkey," said Eurofound Director Jorma Karppinen. "Although major differences still remain in comparison to the EU, significant advances have clearly been made in the quality of life for Turkish people."    

Turkey is a young society, with almost a third (29%) of its population is under the age of 15. The number of children owes more to improved public health than to family size, for two children is now the average. Its population may exceed 90 million by 2023 and 100 million by 2050, surpassing Germany's - currently the highest in the European Union - in just over a decade. Its income per head is lower than any EU Member State.  Turkish GDP per capita is far below the EU average, although the annual growth rate of Turkish GDP is much greater than the average for EU15 countries.

The biggest demographic challenge facing Turkish policymakers is increasing the supply of jobs. Although attitudes to work are positive, Turkey has a much lower proportion of adults participate in the labour force than is common in EU countries. The majority are employed in unstable daily-paid work or self-employed. As a consequence, almost every second Turk report having had trouble paying for at least one household necessity during the previous 12 months. Gender differences are also significant: more than five times as many men as women are in paid employment, with women twice as likely to be unpaid family workers.

The report, Quality of life in Turkey, is based on Eurofound's 28-country European Quality of Life Survey and related social science studies.  The study compares the social conditions of Turkish people with those in the EU15, the 10 Member States who joined the EU in 2004 and with Turkey's own neighbours, Bulgaria and Romania who became members of the EU this year.

Eurofound publications