Employment in Turkey
Turkey: Employment was 32,566 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Employment in Turkey, 1982–2025
Source: International Labour Organization.
Analysis
The most recent figure for employment in Turkey is 32,566, measured in 2025.
The figure is down 0.2% on the previous year and up 22.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employment in Turkey peaked at 32,620 in 2024 and was at its lowest, 5,328, in 1982.
That places Turkey 19th out of 174 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 42 years of available data.
Employment in Turkey, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 | 5,328 | — |
| 1983 | 6,075 | +14.0% |
| 1984 | 6,317 | +4.0% |
| 1985 | 16,162 | +155.8% |
| 1988 | 18,445 | +14.1% |
| 1989 | 18,856 | +2.2% |
| 1990 | 18,538 | -1.7% |
| 1991 | 19,288 | +4.0% |
| 1992 | 19,459 | +0.9% |
| 1993 | 18,500 | -4.9% |
| 1994 | 20,006 | +8.1% |
| 1995 | 20,586 | +2.9% |
| 1996 | 21,194 | +3.0% |
| 1997 | 21,204 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 21,778 | +2.7% |
| 1999 | 22,048 | +1.2% |
| 2000 | 21,581 | -2.1% |
| 2001 | 21,524 | -0.3% |
| 2002 | 21,354 | -0.8% |
| 2003 | 21,147 | -1.0% |
| 2004 | 19,632 | -7.2% |
| 2005 | 20,067 | +2.2% |
| 2006 | 20,423 | +1.8% |
| 2007 | 20,738 | +1.5% |
| 2008 | 21,194 | +2.2% |
| 2009 | 21,277 | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 22,594 | +6.2% |
| 2011 | 24,110 | +6.7% |
| 2012 | 24,821 | +2.9% |
| 2013 | 25,524 | +2.8% |
| 2014 | 25,933 | +1.6% |
| 2015 | 26,621 | +2.7% |
| 2016 | 27,205 | +2.2% |
| 2017 | 28,189 | +3.6% |
| 2018 | 28,738 | +1.9% |
| 2019 | 28,080 | -2.3% |
| 2020 | 26,812 | -4.5% |
| 2021 | 28,797 | +7.4% |
| 2022 | 30,752 | +6.8% |
| 2023 | 31,632 | +2.9% |
| 2024 | 32,620 | +3.1% |
| 2025 | 32,566 | -0.2% |
Turkey compared with similar countries
- Turkey's 32,566 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 3,125, 10.4× the median. (50 countries reporting)
- Turkey's 32,566 is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 3,067, 10.6× the median. (49 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Employment in Turkey changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | +155.8% | 6,317 | 16,162 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 11,864 | 5,328 | 18,856 | 6 |
| 1990s | 20,260 | 18,500 | 22,048 | 10 |
| 2000s | 20,894 | 19,632 | 21,581 | 10 |
| 2010s | 26,181 | 22,594 | 28,738 | 10 |
| 2020s | 30,530 | 26,812 | 32,620 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Turkey
More work & labour data for Turkey
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 31,966 (2027)
- Labour force participation rate (ILO modelled estimates) 54.63 (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 38,497 (2027)
- Unemployment rate (ILO modelled estimates) 8.78 (2027)
- Labour dependency ratio 1.51 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2021 international $ at PPP 95,928 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2015 US $ 41,171 (2027)
- Employment-to-population ratio (ILO modelled estimates) 49.84 (2027)
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+) 0.6505 % change on previous year (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+), annual growth rate 1.11 % change on previous year (2027)
Frequently asked questions
- What is employment in Turkey?
- Employment in Turkey was 32,566 in 2025, according to International Labour Organization.
- What is the highest employment recorded in Turkey?
- The highest recorded value was 32,620 in 2024.
- What is the lowest employment recorded in Turkey?
- The lowest recorded value was 5,328 in 1982.
- How does Turkey rank for employment?
- Turkey ranks 19th out of 174 countries with data for 2025.
- Is employment rising or falling in Turkey?
- Over the last ten years it is up 22.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Turkey data come from?
- The figures come from International Labour Organization, published as part of Employment (previous ILO definition - ICLS13). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 42 observations, free to reuse under ILO Terms of Use (attribution required).