Women in Türkiye 2025: Statistical Portrait and Dynamics of Change

In 2025, the total population of Türkiye exceeded 86 million people, with an almost equal gender distribution: women make up 49.98% (43.03 million), and men — 50.02% (43.06 million). Despite the demographic balance, a detailed analysis shows significant transformations in the social, economic, and personal lives of Turkish women.

1. Demography and Family Planning

One of the most notable trends has been a sharp decline in the total fertility rate. If in 2001 it was 2.38 children per woman, by 2024 this figure dropped to 1.48.

Key indicators:

• Average age of mother at first birth: increased fr om 25.5 years in 2014 to 27.3 years in 2024.

• Adolescent fertility: significantly decreased — from 49 cases per 1,000 women in 2001 to 10 in 2024.

• Family planning: 60.6% of women of reproductive age meet their need for contraception with modern methods.
  
  

2. Health and Longevity

Women in Türkiye live longer than men, but face a higher number of years lived with health problems.

• Life expectancy: for women it is 80.7 years versus 75.5 years for men.

• Healthy life years: at birth, this figure for women is 56.3 years (for men — 58.9 years). This is below the average for 27 EU countries, wh ere women can expect 62.8 healthy years.

• Maternal care: the level of prenatal care in 2024 reached an impressive 99.6%, and the share of births in medical facilities — 99.4%. The maternal mortality ratio is 11.5 per 100,000 live births (in the EU — 6.0).
  
  

3. Education: Progress and Gaps

Türkiye has made significant progress in eliminating illiteracy, however, the gender gap persists in higher education.

• Literacy: among women over 25, the literacy rate is 88.3% (for men — 97.0%).

• Average years of schooling: increased from 6.4 years in 2011 to 8.3 years in 2024.

• Higher education: 23.6% of women have a university degree (for men — 26.8%). Notably, only 26.9% of graduates in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) are women.
  
  

4. Labor Market and Economic Inequality

Employment remains one of the most problematic areas. The labor force participation rate of women is significantly lower than that of men.

• Employment rate: in 2024 it was only 35% for women compared to 71.1% for men. For comparison, the EU average is 69.3% for women.

• Reasons for inactivity: the main reason for women not participating in the labor force is household duties (reported by 58.6% of women).

• Gender pay gap: most pronounced among those with higher education (17.4%) and highly skilled professionals.

• Motherhood and work: the employment rate of women with children under 3 years old is only 26.9%, while for men in a similar situation it reaches 90.9%.
  
  

5. Participation in Decision-Making

Women are gradually entering power structures, but their representation is still limited.

• Parliament: in 2025, the share of women deputies in the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye was 19.9% (EU average — 33.6%).

• Government: as of 2025, there is only 1 female minister in the cabinet compared to 16 men.

• Business: the share of women on the boards of directors of the 50 largest companies (BIST 50) is 21.5%.

• Justice: the situation is more balanced here — women make up 46.6% of judges, although among prosecutors they are only 18.1%.
  
  

6. Family, Household and Safety

The distribution of household responsibilities in Türkiye remains highly traditional.

• Household labor: women spend an average of 4 hours 35 minutes per day on housework and family care, while men — only 53 minutes.

• Violence: the 2024 report shows that 47.7% of women who experienced partner violence did not tell anyone about it. The most common types of violence are emotional (28.2%) and physical (12.3%).

• Safety: 20.3% of the population feel unsafe when walking alone at night in their neighborhood.
  
  

7. Sports and Technology

• Internet: the gap in internet use is narrowing. In 2025, 90.9% of women use the internet (in 2005 it was only 11.1%).

• Sports: women make up 37.3% of the total number of national athletes and brought the country 46.5% of all international medals in 2025. However, their share in the leadership of sports federations is extremely low — only 7.3% of board members.
  
  

The article is based on the official publication “Women in Türkiye: A Statistical Overview 2025”.