Population by labor force status in Turkey
Turkey: Population by labor force status was 18.43 million people in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
18.43 million people
Change on year
down 1.7%
World rank
22nd
of 186 countries
All-time high
20.29 million people
in 1994
All-time low
18.43 million people
in 2025
Years of data
35
1991–2025
Population by labor force status in Turkey, 1991–2025
Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
Turkey recorded 18.43 million people for population by labor force status in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
The figure is down 1.7% on the previous year and down 3.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, population by labor force status in Turkey peaked at 20.29 million people in 1994 and was at its lowest, 18.43 million people, in 2025.
Turkey ranks 22nd of 186 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Population by labor force status in Turkey, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 20.14 million people | — |
| 1992 | 20.20 million people | +0.3% |
| 1993 | 20.25 million people | +0.2% |
| 1994 | 20.29 million people | +0.2% |
| 1995 | 20.28 million people | -0.1% |
| 1996 | 20.20 million people | -0.4% |
| 1997 | 20.10 million people | -0.5% |
| 1998 | 19.99 million people | -0.5% |
| 1999 | 19.88 million people | -0.6% |
| 2000 | 19.77 million people | -0.6% |
| 2001 | 19.67 million people | -0.5% |
| 2002 | 19.57 million people | -0.5% |
| 2003 | 19.49 million people | -0.4% |
| 2004 | 19.41 million people | -0.4% |
| 2005 | 19.34 million people | -0.4% |
| 2006 | 19.26 million people | -0.4% |
| 2007 | 19.19 million people | -0.4% |
| 2008 | 19.14 million people | -0.3% |
| 2009 | 19.07 million people | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 18.99 million people | -0.4% |
| 2011 | 18.92 million people | -0.4% |
| 2012 | 18.88 million people | -0.2% |
| 2013 | 18.87 million people | -0.0% |
| 2014 | 18.94 million people | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 19.09 million people | +0.8% |
| 2016 | 19.23 million people | +0.7% |
| 2017 | 19.38 million people | +0.7% |
| 2018 | 19.52 million people | +0.7% |
| 2019 | 19.60 million people | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 19.60 million people | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 19.51 million people | -0.5% |
| 2022 | 19.32 million people | -1.0% |
| 2023 | 19.06 million people | -1.3% |
| 2024 | 18.76 million people | -1.6% |
| 2025 | 18.43 million people | -1.7% |
Turkey compared with similar countries
- Turkey's 18.43 million people is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.99 million people, 9.3× the median. (53 countries reporting)
- Turkey's 18.43 million people is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1.31 million people, 14.1× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 20.15 million people | 19.88 million people | 20.29 million people | 9 |
| 2000s | 19.39 million people | 19.07 million people | 19.77 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 19.14 million people | 18.87 million people | 19.60 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 19.11 million people | 18.43 million people | 19.60 million people | 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 population by labor force status in Turkey?
- Population by labor force status in Turkey was 18.43 million people in 2025, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest population by labor force status recorded in Turkey?
- The highest recorded value was 20.29 million people in 1994.
- What is the lowest population by labor force status recorded in Turkey?
- The lowest recorded value was 18.43 million people in 2025.
- How does Turkey rank for population by labor force status?
- Turkey ranks 22nd out of 186 countries with data for 2025.
- Is population by labor force status rising or falling in Turkey?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Turkey data come from?
- The figures come from UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Population by labor force status. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Population below working age (under 15 years old).