Happiness declines among Turkish people in 2024, except for young adults
A young Turkish women takes a selfie on Galata Bridge in Istanbul, Türkiye, (Adobe Stock Photo)
The proportion of happy individuals in Türkiye dropped to 49.6% in 2024, marking a significant 3.1 percentage point decrease from the previous year’s 52.7%, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) reported Sunday.
The only age group that saw an increase in happiness was young adults aged 18-24, while all other demographics reported lower happiness levels.
Women, elderly, married individuals were happier among Turkish people
According to the Life Satisfaction Survey released by TurkStat on Feb. 17, the percentage of individuals aged 18 and older who identified as unhappy rose by 0.8 percentage points, reaching 14.5%.
In terms of gender, women were happier than men, with 52.3% reporting happiness. Similarly, married individuals were found to be more content than single individuals, as 52.5% of married respondents expressed happiness.
Among age groups, those aged 65 and older were the happiest, with 54.1% reporting satisfaction.
Meanwhile, the proportion of people who expressed optimism about their future stood at 64.3% in 2024.
The survey also assessed overall life satisfaction by using a scale from 0 (not satisfied at all) to 10 (very satisfied). The average life satisfaction score remained unchanged at 5.7 in both 2023 and 2024.
When asked about the country’s most pressing problems, the rising cost of living ranked first, cited by 29.2% of respondents. Education followed at 15.7%, while poverty ranked third with 14%.
