Adolescent suicide rates in Turkey surged by 80 percent between 2018 and 2022, one of the steepest increases globally, according to a recent UNICEF report that ranks the country near the bottom in child well-being, the Stockholm Center for Freedom reported.
The findings come from “Innocenti Report Card 19: Child Well-Being in an Unpredictable World,” which assessed 43 EU and OECD countries but ranked only 36 due to incomplete data submissions. Turkey placed 35th overall, ranking among the lowest in all three dimensions of child well-being: mental health, physical health and skills development.
The report analyzes six core indicators, life satisfaction, adolescent suicide, child mortality, being overweight, academic proficiency and social skills, to assess child well-being in mental health, physical health and skills
Talking to the Gazete Oksijen news website, Prof. Dr. Özgür Öner, chair of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Bahçeşehir University, said Turkey shares global challenges like digital overexposure and climate anxiety but faces additional, country-specific stressors. “In our country, socioeconomic hardship and, for some youth, political issues also emerge as significant factors,” he said.
Öner added that young people in the country are grappling with a pervasive sense of uncertainty.
“There is intense anxiety about the future. More than 70 percent of youth say they want to live in another country,” he said.
According to the UNICEF report, life satisfaction among Turkish adolescents has also plummeted. Just 57 percent of 15-year-olds report high life satisfaction, placing Turkey last in this indicator. The country trails Chile, the next lowest, by 19 percentage points.
Rates of childhood overweight and obesity continue to climb, while Turkey ranked among the worst in skills development, particularly in academic proficiency and social connection.
Ecem Demirtürk, a clinical psychologist and board member of the Turkish Psychological Association, mentioned severe shortcomings in mental health infrastructure.
“Accessing high-quality psychotherapy or counselling is extremely difficult and expensive,” she said. “Even when medication is eventually accessible, meaningful psychological support often isn’t.”
She warned that without systemic investment in accessible mental health services for youth, the crisis will deepen. “Our guidance services cannot be limited to exam coaching,” she said. “They must be restructured to respond to children’s emotional needs. Mental health services are not optional; they are essential.”
Demirtürk urged the expansion of psychological support in schools and greater availability of trained professionals, warning that the current system leaves many young people isolated. “The combination of neglect and stigma is leaving them without the help they need,” she said.
Demirtürk called for immediate investment in school-based mental health services, broader psychological support for families and national campaigns to destigmatize mental illness. “Psychological well-being is not a luxury,” she said. “It’s a human right and a foundation for any society’s future.”