21 percent of youth in Turkey ‘apolitical’: Survey

ANKARA - Anadolu Agency

DAILY NEWS Photo

Turkish youth think 21.5 percent of their generation is “apolitical,” a new survey conducted by the Civil Servants’ Trade Union (Memur-Sen) and the Institute of Strategic Thinking (SDE) has shown. 

Respondents, between the ages of 15 and 35, said they believed that most young people have become distanced from the country’s problems and are more apolitical than the generations of the 1970s and 1980s. 

Upon a question about the launching of elective classes of local languages at schools besides Turkish, 45 percent said this was in line with the principle of equal citizenship, while 31 percent said it was a move that would divide the country. 

When asked what they thought about the Kurdish peace process, 25 percent said it was a move to “stop bloodshed” and 24 percent said it would “solve most of Turkey’s problems.” Twenty percent said they had no idea about the topic, while 1 percent did not comment. 

The survey was conducted in 26 provinces with the participation of 3,250 people. Forty people were interviewed face-to-face. 

‘Most are members of sports clubs’

According to the survey, most youths are members of sports clubs at 19.7 percent, while 17.5 percent are members of student clubs and 14.1 percent are part of Islamic communities and foundations. 

The most voted personal desire is to achieve a “happy family life,” which was the choice of 45 percent of respondents. Twenty-two percent opted for “a prestigious job,” 17 percent chose “a vocational career,” and 7 percent said they “wanted to be rich.”