Unemployment tops Turks' problems list

ISTANBUL

Almost 60 percent of the Turkish people see unemployment as the country’s biggest problem, according to a recent survey.

While 82 percent of Turks believe there is corruption in the country, Turkey’s biggest problem is unemployment, according to a recent report conducted by the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV).

TESEV’s Corruption Assessment Report revealed that 82 percent of Turkish people believe there is corruption in the country, but 59 percent said unemployment was Turkey’s biggest problem.

“Unemployment” was followed by “corruption” at 44 percent and “environmental pollution” at 7 percent. Turkey’s unemployment rate increased to 10.7 percent in the November 2014 period (a three-month evaluation period), the highest rate since October 2010, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) revealed on Feb. 16.

According to the TESEV index, only 18 percent of respondents consider Turkey to be unaffected by corruption. Some 63 percent of respondents said they have a “high level of awareness of corruption,” while 27 percent said they have a “moderate level of awareness” and 9 percent a “low level of awareness.”Some 87 percent consider “giving money to a police officer so that driver’s license is not suspended” to be an example of graft.