Study draws Turkish youth profile

ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

The most comprehensive survey of young people in Turkey so far, conducted by an Ankara-based think-tank, has found that 21 percent of participants named Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as a person they admired, while only 4 percent chose Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

The research hopes to help the government create effective youth policies, which a 2008 United Nations report found insufficient, Bekir Gür, the deputy chairman of the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA), told a press conference yesterday.

The poll, supported by the recently established Ministry of Youth and Sports, surveyed
10,174 people aged 15 to 29 across Turkey.

Some 41 percent of respondents said they spoke a foreign language, with 91 percent listing English, stated the report, which pointed out that more attention should be given to other languages.

Only 10 percent of respondents said they had ever traveled abroad, which is very low compared to Europe and the United States, the report emphasized. Some 35 percent said they smoked, while 22 percent said they consumed alcohol. The rate of drinkers increases with the level of education, said the report. Some 53 percent said they watched domestic TV series, with “Kurtlar Vadisi” (The Valley of the Wolves) topping the list, while 20 percent said they watched news.

Regular newspaper readers made up 17 percent of the respondents, while 33 percent said they rarely picked up a paper. Daily Posta was the most popular daily, with 24 percent listing it as a favorite.