Nearly three in 10 young people in Turkey were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2025, higher than the European Union average, according to Eurostat data.
The figures, included in Eurostat’s “Young people — social inclusion” data, showed that 28.2 percent of people aged 15 to 29 in Turkey were at risk of poverty or social exclusion, compared with 24.2 percent in the EU.
The EU figure corresponded to 17.3 million young people, or nearly one in four people in the 15-to-29 age group, Eurostat said.
The indicator, known as AROPE, counts people who face at least one of three problems: low income, severe material and social deprivation or living in a household where adults work very little.
In income terms it includes people whose disposable income is below 60 percent of the national median after social transfers.
Eurostat said young people in the EU were more likely to face poverty or social exclusion than the population as a whole.
The youth rate was 24.2 percent in 2025, compared with 20.9 percent for the overall population.
Turkey’s rate placed it among the countries with the highest levels of youth poverty or social exclusion in the Eurostat comparison, which included EU member states as well as selected European Free Trade Association and candidate countries.
Among EU countries, the highest rates were recorded in Romania, at 30.8 percent, followed by Denmark and Finland, both at 30.7 percent, and Greece, at 30 percent.
The data also showed that 21.9 percent of young people aged 15 to 29 in Turkey were at risk of poverty, compared with an EU average of 19.6 percent. Eurostat said the EU rate corresponded to nearly 14 million young people.
The at-risk-of-poverty rate measures relative income poverty. It refers to people whose disposable income is below 60 percent of the national median after social transfers.
For the overall population, Turkey had an at-risk-of-poverty rate of 23.4 percent in 2025, higher than the EU average of 16.3 percent. Turkey’s rate was also above those of Lithuania, at 22.6 percent; Latvia, 22 percent; North Macedonia, 21.9 percent; and Bulgaria, at 21.2 percent.
The report also showed that 10.4 percent of people aged 15 to 29 in Turkey were severely materially and socially deprived, well above the EU average of 5.8 percent. The rate was 12 percent for Turkey’s total population, compared with 6.3 percent across the EU.
Eurostat defines severe material and social deprivation as being unable to afford at least seven of 13 items considered necessary for an adequate quality of life. These include heating a home properly, covering unexpected expenses, eating meat, fish or a vegetarian equivalent every second day, replacing worn-out clothes, taking part in leisure activities and spending a small amount of money on oneself each week.
Among EU countries, the highest youth deprivation rates were recorded in Romania, at 15.1 percent; Greece, at 14.7 percent; and Bulgaria, at 14 percent. The rate was below 3 percent in 10 EU countries: Croatia, Slovenia, Poland, Czechia, Estonia, Cyprus, Austria, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Portugal.
Eurostat said the figures come from EU statistics on income and living conditions, an annual survey used as the main source of data on income, living conditions and quality of life across Europe.
The figures add to research showing that Turkey’s prolonged economic crisis has hit children and young people hard.
A recent report by the Education and Science Workers Union (Eğitim Sen) found that widespread poverty in the southern province of Adana was pushing children out of education and into work, with many students going to school hungry and vocational trainees working long hours.
Another study conducted by İstanbul Bilgi University found widespread hopelessness, low life satisfaction and weak job prospects among young people who are not in education, employment or training, a group known as NEET youth.
The study found that roughly one-third of young people who were not working were also neither studying nor in vocational training, putting Turkey among the countries with the highest NEET rates in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Europe.
The worsening economic outlook has also fueled concern about youth emigration. The İstanbul Bilgi University study found that 67 percent of young respondents wanted to move abroad for better job opportunities, while 36 percent said they could not see a future for themselves in Turkey.