The Turkish youth is increasingly speaking out and articulating their interests and demands not only among themselves, but also increasingly to the broader society. The majority of young people in Turkey tend to have a pessimistic outlook on the future of Turkey. 62.8% of the respondents stated that they do not see the future of Turkey well. Those who stated that they are completely hopeless about the future of Turkey is 35.2%. The Turkish youth has an especially pessimistic outlook towards the economic situation and their own life mainly focused on the cost of living, inflation and the fear of a potential economic collapse. A significant majority of the respondents (72.9%) therefore stated that they would like to live in another country if given the opportunity. Politicians, political parties and journalists are not trusted (only 3.7%, 4.4% and 6.9%) while scientists (70.3%) and the military (61.8%) still tend to be perceived as trusted institutions for the majority of the respondents. There is little trust in the country's basic institutional structures like the presidency (19,4%) and the justice system (11,9%). The overwhelming majority (80%) of the respondents believes women and men are equal and think romantic relationship between women and men before marriage is normal (92,3%) displaying a liberal and open-minded youth. Moreover, family (96,6%) and friends (82,9%) are very important to the respondents.

The data shows a nationalistic young society that considers the national symbols like the Turkish flag (89,7%), the Turkish Republic as an institution (87,4%) and being a Turk (71,6%) to be overwhelmingly important.

Being a Muslim (70,5%) also continues to be very important for a large majority of the respondents. Yet, the rate of those who says they believe in god and describe themselves as pious is 29.8% while the ones who say they believe in god but do not consider themselves as pious is 56,9%.

Being asked about the leader they admire and appreciate the most, among the politicians who are currently political party leaders in Turkey, "none of them" (20,1%) came first. In the second place, the name of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was given with a rate of 16,8%. When given the option to name somebody not included on the list, 16,3% of the participants answered with the name of Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş.

The large majority of the questioned Turkish youth (80,4%) think the refugee policy of the government is not right one and must be changed. More than half of the respondents (56.8%) want the Syrians to be sent back when there is peace in Syria.

Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Turkey conducted this major research assessing and analyzing the social and political attitudes and opinions of the Turkish youth in a representative study. The research sheds light on the perception of the Turkish youth on politics, participation, activism and international politics, as well as analyzes their cultural, religious, and social preferences.

With data from 28 provinces and 3,243 face-to-face questionnaires based on 100 questions, the TURKISH YOUTH 2021 study provides a comprehensive and representative overview of the major trends, structural composition and opinions of the young generation in Turkey.

Its detailed analysis will enable policy-makers, journalists and academics to better understand the sociological composition of the so-called “Generation Z” (1997-2005) and the young part of “Generation Y” (1981-1996) and their views on politics and society. In the next general elections in 2023, roughly 5 million new voters from the “Generation Z” will join the electorate. This represents an estimated 10% of the eligible voters. Understanding this important part of the electorate is vital in understanding the Turkey of tomorrow.

Methodology:

The study was commissioned by Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Turkey and conducted and written by Prof. Dr. Ali Çağlar (Hacettepe Üniversitesi Ankara) and a team of experts across Turkey.

The Turkish Youth 2021 study is based on a representative sample of 3,243 young people aged 18 to 25 who were interviewed face-to-face by pollsters about their life situation, their political and social attitudes, opinions, preferences, expectations and orientations in 28 provinces which are representative of the whole of Turkey. The data of the study was collected from the field between 20th of May and 10th of September 2021.

The target population of the research is the individuals between 18-25 years old.

The study consists of frequency analysis, cross-tabulation analysis and evaluation of the data. The cross-tabulation analysis was made according to province, age, education, sex and region (NUTS1) variables.

The main sections of the study can be summarized as follows:

- Socio-demographic and cultural structures of youth,

- Basic economic conditions

- Importance to the various social values and concepts in society

- Trust to certain institutions and individuals in Turkey

- Opinions on Turkey’s current economic structure and policies

- Usage of social media,

- Political and ideological identities,

- Political opinions and preferences,

- Attitudes and opinions on the Syrian refugees in Turkey,

- Thoughts on threats and dangers regarding the future of Turkey and World.

About the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Turkey:

The Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) is a German political foundation with offices in more than 120 countries. The work of KAS Turkey started in 1985 and includes a variety of programs with different Turkish and international stakeholders building strong partnerships along the way and fostering German-Turkish, respectively European-Turkish relations with the aim of bringing Turkey closer to European structures and institutions and strengthening its transatlantic ties.

For more results, more detailed information on the data, to request a hard-cover copy of the book or media requests regarding the project, please get in touch with the KAS Turkey office.