Turkey: Facts & Stats

Demographics

Population:

The population of Turkey stood at 71.5 million with a growth rate of 1.31% per annum, based on the 2008 Census. It has an average population density of 92 persons per km². The proportion of the population residing in urban areas is 70.5%.

The five largest cities are:

1. Istanbul - 10,895,257
2. Ankara - 3,945,627
3. Izmir - 2,699,721
4. Bursa - 1,642,020
5. Adana - 1,529,302

Welfare:

In the early 1990s, the most important underwriters of social security plans were the Government Employees' Retirement Fund, the Social Insurance Institution, and the Social Insurance Institution for the Self-Employed. In 1995 at least 15 percent of the working population participated in the social welfare system.

If the agricultural sector is excluded, this percentage rises to 40 percent. Less than 1 percent of agricultural workers were part of the social security system in 1995, but the government has made efforts for at least a decade to increase their participation. Employers pay insurance premiums to cover work-related injuries, occupational diseases, and maternity leave.

Both employers and employees contribute specified proportions to cover premiums for illness, disability, retirement, and death benefits. Thus, in these and other instances, Turkey is moving toward a more Westernized approach to socioeconomic, educational, and health matters, and is seeking to lay a firmer basis for participation in the EU.

Education:

The Turkish Education System was built in accordance with the Atatürk Reforms after the Turkish War of Independence. It is a state supervised system designed to produce a skillful professional class for the social and economic institutes of the nation.

Turkish system mandates 8 years of primary education between the ages of 7 and 14, and in 2001 enrollment of children in this age range was nearly 100%. For 14-18 year olds three or more years of secondary education are available in public, distance-learning, and vocational high schools. About 95% of students attend public schools, but inadequacies of the public system increasingly motivates middle-class parents to seek private education.

In 2001 some 1,273 institutions of higher learning were in operation. Except for the Open Education Faculty at Anadolu University, entrance is regulated by a national examination, ÖSS, after which high school graduates are assigned to the limited university space available, according to their performance. Annually, about 1.5 million students graduate from Turkish high schools.

In 2002, the total expenditure on education in Turkey amounted to $13.4 billion, including the state budget allocated through the National Ministry of Education and private and international funds.

Religion:

Islam is the largest religion of Turkey. More than 99 percent of the population is Muslim, mostly Sunni. The Shia Alevi community, a distinct Muslim sect, make up 20 percent of the population. Christianity (Oriental Orthodoxy, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic) and Judaism are the other religions in practice, but the non-Muslim population declined in the early 2000s.

Beginning in the 1980s, the role of religion in the state has been a divisive issue, as influential factions challenged the complete secularization called for by Kemalism and the observance of Islamic practices experienced a substantial revival. In the early 2000s, Islamic groups challenged the concept of the secular state with increasing vigor after the Erdogan government had calmed the issue in 2003.

The secular nature of the Turkish republic is also strongly disputed, as the state in reality provides huge advantages to the followers of the Sunni Islam, few to other Muslims (as Alevi and Shia), and discriminates all non-Muslims. Thousands of Sunni imams receive state salaries, whereas the other religions receive as good as nothing, and whereas the Turkish Orthodox Christians are even prohibited in training their own clergy in Turkey.

The fierce nationalism of the Sunni Muslims in Turkey includes frequent removal of any reference to this contentious issue of the privileges given by the Turkish state to their religion.

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