Official figures show rise in female university graduates

ISTANBUL

Females constitute some 49.9 percent of the country’s total population, while the rate of female university graduates, which was 7.6 percent in 2008, has reached some 19.9 in 2020, according to the latest data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK).

In its “Women in Statistics, 2021” report, TÜİK said the female population was 42,252,172, while the male population was 42,428,101 in 2021. In other words, females constituted 49.9 percent and males constituted 50.1 percent of the total population.

Between the years 2008 and 2020, the proportion of those aged 25 and above and completed at least one level of education in the total population increased from 81.1 percent in 2008 to 92.9 percent in 2020.

The rate of females with at least one level of education jumped from 72.6 percent to 87.7 percent over a decade.

The rate has also risen in the proportion of the population aged 25 and over and who were at least university graduates. Some 9.8 percent of the total population were university graduates in 2008, while the percentage increased to 22.1 in 2020.

When this proportion was analyzed based on sex, it was 7.6 percent for females and 12.1 percent for males in 2008. This proportion was 19.9 percent for females and 24.4 percent for males in 2020.

The results show that the female employment rate was less than half of the male employment rate this year. The proportion of those over the age of 15 and in employment was 42.8 in Turkey in 2020. Some 26.3 percent of this were females, while some 59.8 were males.

The highest rate of women’s employment was seen in the Thracian region with 50.9 percent. The lowest was in the southeastern region with 26 percent.

The rate of the women working part-time in employment was some 19.5 percent, while some 63.5 percent of the employed females were satisfied with the time spent while commuting.

The rise in the number of female professors and ambassadors was easily detected. While the proportion of female ambassadors was 11.9 percent in 2011, this proportion was 26.5 percent in 2021.

The proportion of female professors was 27.6 percent in the educational year of 2010-11. It increased to 32.4 percent in the educational year of 2020-21.

According to marriage statistics, the average marriage age of females who officially made their first marriage in 2021 was 25.4. It was 28.1 for males.