Turkey

   

Social Policies

#32
Key Findings
With the pressure of refugee care stressing social budgets, Turkey scores relatively poorly (rank 32) with regard to social policies. Its score on this measure has improved by 0.7 points relative to 2014.

The country has made significant progress in increasing access to education. Pre-primary enrollments rates are quite low, but primary enrollments are now above 97%. PISA scores are rising, but remain low in international comparison. Income inequality is very substantial. The currency shocks are likely to increase the poverty rate in the short run.

Near-universal health insurance coverage was achieved in 2014. The country generally had sufficient hospital capacity and protective material supplies during the pandemic, but nearly 79,000 people had died by December 2021. The vaccination rate was above 80%, but largely with lower-quality Chinese vaccines.

The employment rate among women is very low. The government’s conservative family-affairs stance harms gender equality in the labor market. Soaring inflation has left pension amounts under the poverty threshold. Around 3.6 million Syrian refugees live in Turkey, along with 400,000 from elsewhere, creating massive financial burdens. Much of this is defrayed through international support.

Education

#38

To what extent does education policy deliver high-quality, equitable and efficient education and training?

10
 9

Education policy fully achieves the criteria.
 8
 7
 6


Education policy largely achieves the criteria.
 5
 4
 3


Education policy partially achieves the criteria.
 2
 1

Education policy does not achieve the criteria at all.
Education Policy
4
In Turkey, children typically attend pre-primary education starting at age three, and the programs last between one and three years. Compulsory education begins at age five/six and ends at age 17. Turkey has made significant progress in increasing access to education. In the 2020 – 2021 school year, although the pre-primary education enrollment rate was quite low at 58.5%, Turkey achieved almost universal primary-school enrollment (97.6%). During the same period, lower-secondary-school enrollment was 96.1%; upper-secondary school enrollment was 95.6%, and the higher-education enrollment rate was 43.3%. Gender-based statistics show that female enrollment ratios are 97.7% at the primary education level, 84.8% for secondary education and 87.9% for higher education. With these scores, the Gender Gap Index of the World Economic Forum ranked Turkey 133th out of 156 countries.

Vocational education and training (VET) programs are available to students who leave the education system after primary school. The standard length of VET programs is four years, almost all of which is spent in workplaces. A total of 36% of 25- to 34-year-old women have a tertiary qualification in comparison to 35% of men. These numbers are respectively 51% and 39% on average across OECD countries.

The results of the 2019 PISA study showed Turkey making some improvements compared to previous years, and thus indicated some degree of effective policymaking and implementation. However, Turkey still ranks at the bottom of the test group, suggesting serious issues with the overall quality of education.

For the 2020-2021 education year, the total number of teachers in the country reached 1,112,305. Among them, 950,090 work in public schools and 162,215 work in private schools. There are 53,620 public and 13,501 private schools in Turkey. The number of classrooms is 732,381. Despite the extent of institutionalization, the education system does not provide students with high-quality instruction. In the YKS test in 2021, out of 2,416,748 candidates, 217,504 had no correct answers in the mathematic test (out of 40 questions).

Equitable access for Syrian refugees to Turkey’s education system remains a matter of concern. Although the number of refugees who are enrolled in formal education rose from 684,728 in 2019 to 768,839 by December 2020, more than 400,000 school-aged refugee children cannot still access education. Similarly, the school enrollment rate among disabled people remained low despite enhancements in online teaching and TV broadcasting.

Citations:
Anadolu Ajansı. “MEB eğitim-öğretim istatistiklerini açıkladı,” September 10, 2021. https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/egitim/meb-egitim-ogretim-istatistiklerini-acikladi/2361308

World Economic Forum. “Global Gender Gap Report 2021. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GGGR_2021.pdf

OECD. “Education at a Glance 2020, Turkey.” 2020. https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/1701b91e-en.pdf?expires=1636550364&id=id&accname=ocid41021573&checksum=CC4D567BFA4E35995436E0BDEC6B56C4

OECD. “PISA 2018. https://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA2018_CN_TUR.pdf.

Anadolu Ajansı. “MEB eğitim-öğretim istatistiklerini açıkladı,” September 10, 2021.
https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/egitim/meb-egitim-ogretim-istatistiklerini-acikladi/2361308

Sözcü. “Eğitim sistemi sıfır çekti! 1 milyon aday birinci basamağı bile geçemedi,” July 28, 2021. https://www.sozcu.com.tr/2021/egitim/egitim-sistemi-sifir-cekti-1-milyon-aday-birinci-basamagi-bile-gecemedi-6561432/.

European Commission. “Turkey Report 2021. Commission Staff Working Document.” October 19, 2021. https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/turkey-report-2021_en

Social Inclusion

#41

To what extent does social policy prevent exclusion and decoupling from society?

10
 9

Policies very effectively enable societal inclusion and ensure equal opportunities.
 8
 7
 6


For the most part, policies enable societal inclusion effectively and ensure equal opportunities.
 5
 4
 3


For the most part, policies fail to prevent societal exclusion effectively and ensure equal opportunities.
 2
 1

Policies exacerbate unequal opportunities and exclusion from society.
Social Inclusion Policy
5
Income distribution in Turkey continues to be among the OECD’s most unequal. According to TURKSTAT (2021), while the top 20% of earners received 47.5% of income, the bottom 20% of earners received 5.9% of total income. TURKSTAT data reveals that if the poverty line is determined according to 60% of median income, 21.9% of the citizens would be below the poverty line. In particular, poverty remains prevalent among people with comparatively low educational attainments, workers in the informal sector, unpaid family caregivers and homemakers, and the elderly. As the currency shocks have affected low-income households more than others, it would not be surprising to see a rise in poverty rates in the short run.

Since 2002, the AKP government has developed a fragmented and integrated social assistance scheme for the elderly, widows and disabled, excluding the homeless. Targeted assistance programs are also applied to encourage school attendance and visits to hospitals as necessary. The EU Commission (2021) points to the absence of a universal last-resort minimum income scheme, although one-off payments have been seen as a partial remedy. In 2020, social assistance payments totaled 1.37% of GDP, or TRY 69.3 billion. Between 2011 to July 2020, a total of 1,724,006 people benefited from at-home care facilities.

Additionally, the government has developed an integrated social assistance system geared toward helping welfare recipients get out of poverty. Since 2011, responsibility for all central government social assistance benefits has been combined under the Ministry of Family and Social Policies. The government has been implementing an Integrated Social Assistance Information System, using a single proxy means test to target benefits more effectively. While 6,630,682 households benefited from social assistance in 2020, a total of 2,450,080 households received regular assistance. About 1,436,799 households benefited from both regular and temporary aid.

Citations:
TURKSTAT. “Gelir ve Yaşam Koşulları Araştırması, 2020.” September 11, 2020. https://data.tuik.gov.tr/Bulten/Index?p=Income-and-Living-Conditions-Survey-2020-37404

Worldbank. “Turkey Economic Monitor: Navigating the Waves.” April 27, 2021.
https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/turkey/publication/economic-monitor

European Commission. “Turkey Report 2021. Commission Staff Working Document.” October 19, 2021. https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/turkey-report-2021_en

Anadolu Ajansı. “Evde sağlık hizmetinden yararlananların sayısı 1,5 milyonu aştı.” September 23, 2020. https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/saglik/evde-saglik-hizmetinden-yararlananlarin-sayisi-1-5-milyonu-asti-/1982721.

Sözcü. “Yoksul hane sayısı 1 yılda 2’ye katlandı,” April 2, 2021.https://www.sozcu.com.tr/2021/ekonomi/yoksul-hane-dayisi-1-yilda-2ye-katlandi-6348466/

Health

#29

To what extent do health care policies provide high-quality, inclusive and cost-efficient health care?

10
 9

Health care policy achieves the criteria fully.
 8
 7
 6


Health care policy achieves the criteria largely.
 5
 4
 3


Health care policy achieves the criteria partly.
 2
 1

Health care policy does not achieve the criteria at all.
Health Policy
7
Thanks to a series of healthcare reforms implemented since 2003, Turkey had achieved near-universal health insurance coverage by 2014, improving equity in access to healthcare nationwide. The vaccination program has been broadened, the scope of newborn screening and support programs has been extended, community-based mental healthcare services have been created, and cancer screening centers offering free services have been established in many cities.

The key challenge remains keeping costs under control as demand for healthcare increases, the population ages and new technologies are introduced. Total health expenditure rose to TRY 201 billion in 2019, with a 21.7% increase in comparison to 2018. The total health expenditure as a share of GDP increased from 4.7% in 2019 to 5.0% in 2020. The rate of public health expenditure to total health expenditure was 79.2% in 2020, while private-sector health spending consisted of 20.8% of all expenditure.

In 2020, a total of 1,534 hospitals actively served patients. From 2019 to 2020, the number of actively used hospital beds increased by 13,678, reaching 251,108. The number of adult intensive care beds rose from 25,364 to 32,663. For the same period, the total number of physicians increased from 160,810 to 171,259, while the number of healthcare personnel increased from 1,033,767 to 1,142,469. Adequate payment of medical staff, however, remains a pressing issue.

To tackle the pandemic, the Ministry of Health attempted to increase the quality of health facilities and protect public health in accordance with the EU directives on communicable diseases and WHO international health regulations. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, Turkey has usually had enough capacity with regard to protective materials, disinfectants, masks and ventilators.

By December 2021, more than 9 million people in the country had been infected with COVID-19, and nearly 79.000 people had lost their lives in connection with the disease. The country’s comprehensive vaccination program started in January 2021. As of 25 December 2021, more than 128 million doses of the vaccine, mainly of Chinese origin, had been administered. This means that 82.7% of citizens over 18 were fully vaccinated, yet were largely insufficiently protected against the virus and its variants. Turkey is executing seven vaccine development projects at the same time. The inactivated TURKOVAC vaccine, developed by the Health Institutes of Turkey and Erciyes University, was permitted for emergency use in December 2021.

Healthcare access is equitable. Turkey, in coordination with WHO/Europe, assists in providing healthcare services to refugees and migrants. The government has employed 4,000 Syrian health workers. More than 97 million polyclinic services were provided to Syrians, and the number of surgical operations reached 2.6 million.

Citations:
TURKSTAT. “Health Expenditure Statistics, 2020,” December 8, 2021.
https://data.tuik.gov.tr/Bulten/Index?p=Saglik-Harcamalari-Istatistikleri-2020-37192#:~:text=Toplam%20sa%C4%9Fl%C4%B1k%20harcamas%C4%B1n%C4%B1n%20GSYH’ye,%254%2C6%20olarak%20ger%C3%A7ekle%C5%9Fti.

Sağlık Bakanlığı. 2021. “Sağlık İstatistikleri Yıllığı 2020 Haber Bülteni.”
https://sbsgm.saglik.gov.tr/Eklenti/41611/0/haber-bulteni-2020pdf.pdf

Sağlık Bakanlığı. 2021. “Günlük Covid-19 Tablosu.” https://covid19.saglik.gov.tr

BBC. “Turkovac: Yerli Covid aşısı için acil kullanım onayı alındı,” December 22, 2021. https://www.bbc.com/turkce/haberler-dunya-59754868

Families

#41

To what extent do family support policies enable women to combine parenting with participation in the labor market?

10
 9

Family support policies effectively enable women to combine parenting with employment.
 8
 7
 6


Family support policies provide some support for women who want to combine parenting and employment.
 5
 4
 3


Family support policies provide only few opportunities for women who want to combine parenting and employment.
 2
 1

Family support policies force most women to opt for either parenting or employment.
Family Policy
4
Inequalities between men and women with regard to combining participation in the labor force and parenting persist in Turkey. Most strikingly, no regulation has been made relating to part-time work for working parents in the public sector. In 2019, the employment rate among men (63.1%) was more than twice that among women (28.7%). Despite a modest increase in the latter figure, Turkey still lags behind advanced economies such as Germany (46.3%) and France (48.1%). What is troublesome is that the gender pay gap is observed at all levels of educational attainment. In 2018, the pay gap was 15.6%. The wage gap tends to diminish as educational level and age increase. According to the EU commission, the gender employment gap was 38.1% in 2020, which was the highest such rate among EU candidate countries and potential candidates.

Under the provisions of the Labor Law No. 4857, female workers have a right to maternity leave of eight weeks before giving birth and eight weeks after giving birth, for a total of 16 weeks. The right to return to one’s job after maternity leave is no longer exclusive to civil servants or women married to a civil servant. Women whose spouse is no longer a civil servant, but who has worked in civil service for a minimum of 360 days in the last two years, may apply for maternity leave and have the right to return to their position. However, to benefit from this provision, people must have paid premiums for at least 360 days in the last two years.

In general, the government’s conservative stance on women and family affairs (e.g., concerning the number of children, or women’s roles) harms gender equality in the labor market. Turkey’s withdrawal in March 2021 from the Istanbul Convention, which protects women from domestic violence, allegedly because the measure was incompatible with Turkish family values, illustrates the desire of the government to curtail women’s rights under the pressure of the religious groups in Turkey.

Citations:
World Bank. “Labor Force, Female (% of Total Labor Force) - Turkey.” https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.TLF.TOTL.FE.ZS?locations=TR

ILO. “Gender Wage Gap Is 15.6% in Turkey, According to the Joint Study by ILO Turkey Office and TURKSTAT.” October 05, 2020. https://www.ilo.org/ankara/news/WCMS_757055/lang–en/index.htm.

Pensions

#28

To what extent does pension policy realize goals of poverty prevention, intergenerational equity and fiscal sustainability?

10
 9

Pension policy achieves the objectives fully.
 8
 7
 6


Pension policy achieves the objectives largely.
 5
 4
 3


Pension policy achieves the objectives partly.
 2
 1

Pension policy does not achieve the objectives at all.
Pension Policy
5
In 2001, Turkey’s pension system was reformed with the enactment of Law No. 4632, offering individual retirement plans within a three-component system that includes one compulsory component, one occupational component and one optional component. In 2012, Law No. 6327 was enacted, stipulating that the state would match 25% of all annual contributions paid by individuals to funded pension schemes starting in January 2013. An upper bound was assigned to the contribution by the state. In 2016, Law No. 6740 automatically assigned all publicly and privately employed wage and salary earners who were less than 45 years of age to an individual pension plan, in which they would begin contributing at a minimum rate of 3% of their taxable earnings unless they opted out within two months of their automatic enrollment in the plan. After the plan went into effect, 60% of the 12 million workers included in the system opted out of the plan, which created pressure for the government to take further action.

Under the Economic Program of 2019 – 2021, employees are obliged to stay in the individual pension plan for three years before being able to opt out. Thus, for three years the pension plan would be compulsory. In addition, the New Economic Program 2020 – 2022 emphasized that a Complementary Pension System will be established, with the backing of the government’s social partners. Moreover, a comprehensive reform package is to be introduced. The government has stated it would implement policies balancing the social security system while also safeguarding social justice.

Currently, the age of pension eligibility is 60 years for men and 58 years for women, with at least 7,200 days of contributions needed for eligibility. The pension age will gradually rise to 65 for both men and women, between 2036 and 2044. But these adjustments will be too slow to counter the effects of expanding coverage and an aging population. For this reason, pension-system deficits are expected to constitute around 3% of GDP until the middle of the century.

Because of soaring inflation, pension payments remain under the poverty threshold. Some research shows that about 8 million retirees live under the poverty line, while 1.5 million retirees live under the hunger threshold.

The population of people who will be forced to wait longer for pension eligibility than they had expected (emeklilikte yaşa takılanlar), whose number is estimated to be around 1 million, are putting increasing pressure on policymakers. Although the government has not yet passed a bill that recognizes their rights, it will likely use this as a trump card on the eve of the 2023 elections. According to some credible estimates, the cost of such legislation could reach TRY 750 billion, making it less popular among many policymakers.

Citations:
Peksevim, S. and V. Akgiray (2019) ’Reforming the Pension System in Turkey: Comparison of Mandatory and Auto-Enrollment Pension Systems in Selected OECD Countries, Paris: OECD

Cumhuriyet. “Çözüm.” February 10, 2019. https://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/haber/cozum-mumkun-1241326

Integration

#34

How effectively do policies support the integration of migrants into society?

10
 9

Cultural, education and social policies effectively support the integration of migrants into society.
 8
 7
 6


Cultural, education and social policies seek to integrate migrants into society, but have failed to do so effectively.
 5
 4
 3


Cultural, education and social policies do not focus on integrating migrants into society.
 2
 1

Cultural, education and social policies segregate migrant communities from the majority society.
Integration Policy
6
Turkey’s new Law on Foreigners and International Protection took effect in April 2014. On the same date, the General Directorate for Migration Management officially took on responsibility for implementing the law to bring Turkey in line with European Union and international standards. In October 2014, Turkey adopted the Temporary Protection Regulation, which defines the rights, obligations, and procedures for people granted temporary protection in Turkey.

Turkey is increasingly becoming a country of destination for irregular migration. At the same time, it also remains a notable transit and destination country for irregular migration. Turkey hosts 3.6 million Syrian refugees along with 400,000 refugees from other countries. Additionally, around 1 million unregistered refugees are estimated to reside in Turkey. Children aged 0-18 make up 1,764,863 (47.5%) of the country’s Syrian population. About 51,945 Syrians were residing in temporary refugee centers as of October 2021. Istanbul hosts the largest number of Syrians (534,439); followed by Gaziantep (458,670) and Hatay (437,234).

The Human Rights Association (2020) observes that difficulties in accessing education, nutrition and suffering from violence persist. Though there is considerable uncertainty about how much money has been spent and on what, as the credibility of official figures and statements has been widely questioned by legal institutions and the opposition.

The refugees were one of the most vulnerable groups during the pandemic, as most of them lost their jobs and income. However, the government did not create a special program to help refugees. Rather it collaborated with international actors in order to ease the burden on its own budget. The EU Facility for Refugees in Turkey, for instance, had mobilized €4.2 billion in funding for the refugees by August 2021.

Citations:
Mülteciler Derneği. “Türkiyedeki Suriyeli Sayısı Kasım 2021,” November 25, 2021.
https://multeciler.org.tr/turkiyedeki-suriyeli-sayisi/

European Commission. “Turkey Report 2021. Commission Staff Working Document.” October 19, 2021. https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/turkey-report-2021_en

Cumhuriyet. “‘Göçmen Emeği’ çalışmasına göre, kayıt dışı çalışma yüzde 94,” August 2, 2021. https://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/haber/gocmen-emegi-calismasina-gore-kayit-disi-calisma-yuzde-94-1857175

Safe Living

#40

How effectively does internal security policy protect citizens against security risks?

10
 9

Internal security policy protects citizens against security risks very effectively.
 8
 7
 6


Internal security policy protects citizens against security risks more or less effectively.
 5
 4
 3


Internal security policy does not effectively protect citizens against security risks.
 2
 1

Internal security policy exacerbates the security risks.
Internal Security Policy
4
The Turkish National Police (TNP) has introduced an e-government infrastructure in many of its divisions, and initiated several projects intended to bring operations into harmony with the EU acquis. The 2020 UNDP Human Development Report ranked Turkey in the top group of countries (i.e., countries with a score of above 0.8), as Turkey scored particularly well for life expectancy and standard of living. In a 2018 OECD survey, 60% of Turkish respondents stated that they felt safe walking alone at night, slightly lower than the OECD average of 68%. Turkey’s homicide rate is 1.4 per 100,000 inhabitants, lower than the OECD average of 3.7 per 100,000 inhabitants. Moreover, 77.4% of respondents to the TURKSTAT 2020 Life Satisfaction Survey expressed satisfaction with the security services.

Based on TURSTAT figures, however, the opposition draws a completely different picture. Most strikingly, from 2009 to 2019, theft increased by a factor of seven, smuggling by a factor of nine, murder by a factor of six, and sexual crimes by a factor of 10. Consequently, Global Initiative’s Global Organized Crime Index ranks Turkey 12th among 193 countries.

The Ministry of Interior Affairs also initiated a joint border control project with Georgia in 2021. The Turkish National Police (TNP) collaborates extensively with domestic partners and international organizations such as INTERPOL, EUROPOL, SECI, AGIT, BM, CEPOL and FRONTEX.

Citations:
TURKSTAT. “Life Satisfaction Survey, 2020,” February 18, 2021.
https://data.tuik.gov.tr/Bulten/Index?p=Yasam-Memnuniyeti-Arastirmasi-2020-37209

Medyascope. “Küresel organize suç indeksi açıklandı: Türkiye’nin adı her kategoride yer alıyor,” November 3, 2021. https://medyascope.tv/2021/11/03/kuresel-organize-suc-indeksi-aciklandi-turkiyenin-adi-her-kategoride-yer-aliyor/

Anadolu Ajansı. “Türkiye ile Gürcistan’dan ortak sınır tatbikatı.” November 12, 2021. Accessed 5 April, 2022. https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/dunya/turkiye-ile-gurcistandan-ortak-sinir-tatbikati-/2418997

Global Inequalities

#6

To what extent does the government demonstrate an active and coherent commitment to promoting equal socioeconomic opportunities in low- and middle-income countries?

10
 9

The government actively and coherently engages in international efforts to promote equal socioeconomic opportunities in low- and middle-income countries. It frequently demonstrates initiative and responsibility, and acts as an agenda-setter.
 8
 7
 6


The government actively engages in international efforts to promote equal socioeconomic opportunities in low- and middle-income countries. However, some of its measures or policies lack coherence.
 5
 4
 3


The government shows limited engagement in international efforts to promote equal socioeconomic opportunities in low- and middle-income countries. Many of its measures or policies lack coherence.
 2
 1

The government does not contribute (and often undermines) efforts to promote equal socioeconomic opportunities in low- and middle-income countries.
Global Social Policy
7
Turkey has long used development assistance to advance social inclusion and development beyond its borders. Most strikingly, the amount of official development assistance (ODA) provided by Turkey increased from $967 million in 2010 to $8.6 billion in 2018. This means that ODA totaled 1.1% of the country’s gross national income (GNI), well above the 0.7% threshold in the Sustainable Development Goal targets. The top five receivers are Somalia, Palestine, Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kyrgyzstan.

Turkey’s development cooperation is provided in line with the Statutory Decree on the Organization and Duties of the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA). Established in 1992, TIKA designs and coordinates Turkey’s bilateral development cooperation activities and implements projects in collaboration with other ministries, NGOs, and private sector partners. Since its establishment, TIKA has implemented thousands of projects in more than 150 countries with 61 Program Coordination Offices in 59 countries.

Citations:
United Nations. 2019. Turkey’s Sustainable Development Goals. (Strong Ground towards Common Goals). https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/23862Turkey_VNR_110719.pdf

TİKA Annual Report 2020, https://www.tika.gov.tr/upload/sayfa/FAAL%C4%B0YET%20RAPORU%202020/TIKAFaaliyet2020Web.pdf
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