Today, I’m going tackle some issues that I haven’t find chance to tackle last week, due to the highly anticipated CBRT decision. The things you will read below will surprise you, especially for those who like to come into generalized conclusions.
Last week, I read a report called “Turkey’s DNA”, which shows the different bases upon which Turkish people are grouped. .
Below, there is a list of different social groups in Turkey:
- The Happy Conservatives 23,7%
- The Liberal Modernists 16,2%
- The Concerned Modernists 14,2%
- The Jaded Democrats 13 %
- The Ultra-Conservatives 11,5%
- The Indifferent Complainers 11,1%
- The Modest Contended 10,3%
Based on the findings above, one may come to the conclusion there are many different tendencies rising in Turkish society while the society itself is in constant evolution. This data however doesn’t give a hint about the 2023 elections. Even though we take a broader perspective on these tendencies – or as we should rather call them “Wings”, there is no any monoblocks. In lieu of uniting into one idea, these different tendencies may join forces against an idea. That, we should not forget.
Another statistic shows that groups near the top of the income distribution in Turkey are at the 40thpercentile of total income. Those at the lowest income bracket, on the other hand, remain at the 6thpercentile of total income. Upper-Middle, Middle and Lower-Middle income groups’ share in distribution of income is almost equal to the share of those in high income group. Istanbul, Ankara, Tekirdağ, Edirne and Kırklareli are the top five cities in Turkey with highest median household income. 49 percent of the population have a car, while 59 percent lives in their own home. This seems like a key data for banks and financial institutions.
The same survey also indicates that there’s been a decline in the number of marriages in 2018, against a rise in the number of divorces. 37,6% of divorces were of marriages that had lasted up to 5 years, while 20,4% were of marriages that had lasted 6 to 10 years. By the way, the median age at first marriage is an estimated 24.8 for women and 27,8 for men. In 43% of marriages, couple meet through family elders, while in 28% of marriages, couples meet by chance or through friends, which means in Turkey, it’s not couples that get married. In actuality, it’s the families that are getting married.
“There’s still hope…”
Levels of self-reported happiness among all individuals in Turkey, on the other hand, have fallen from 61% (in 2016) to 53% in 2018. This may be the most drastic rate of decline over the past decade. By the way, statistics show that Turkish people are longing for the past while they tend to be environmentally conscious, faithful, fond of little luxuries, but they run to the comfort and coziness of their homes so they can escape from the reality.
Finally, according to the report, spending most of their free time by watching television, or visiting shopping malls, only 21% of Turkish people buy books, 22% go to movie theatres, 9% go to the theatre, 5% go to concerts and visits archaeological sites,4% go to museums and only 2% visit art galleries.
While, on the one hand, the statistics above tell us why Turkish people are not more decline towards more sophisticated habits, on the other hand, they give us hope for the possibility that Turkey will flourish one day in many aspects.
