- BIST10012,261-0.04%
- USD49.34+0.24%
- EUR55.21-0.01%
- GOLD4,211.30+0.49%
- INTEREST37.00%-1.00
- BITCOIN83,240+1.82%
- October 13, 202618°
- BIST10012,261-0.04%
- USD49.34+0.24%
- EUR55.21-0.01%
- GOLD4,211.30+0.49%
- INTEREST37.00%-1.00
- BITCOIN83,240+1.82%
- October 13, 202618°
Vice President Yılmaz sets 2028 target of over 40% for women's workforce participation
Vice President Yılmaz announced a target of raising women's workforce participation above 40% by 2028 at the Population Policies Board meeting held at the Presidential Complex. Yılmaz said the fertility rate had fallen to 1.42 in 2025 and that childcare, working life and family policies would be addressed together.
Vice President Yılmaz chaired the Population Policies Board meeting held at the Presidential Complex. The meeting focused on accessible childcare services and balancing work and family life.
Family and Social Services Minister Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş, Council of Higher Education President Erol Özvar, Presidential Strategy and Budget Director İbrahim Şenel, Presidential Communications Director Burhanettin Duran, Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Deputy Chair Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya and AK Party Central Headquarters Women's Branch Chair Tuğba Işık Ercan attended the meeting, along with deputy ministers and representatives of relevant institutions and organizations.
Population growth data
Yılmaz said Türkiye's population had reached 86 million 92,000 by the end of 2025, while the annual population growth rate stood at 5 per thousand. He said the total fertility rate had fallen to 1.42 children in 2025, its lowest recorded level in the history of the Republic.
Yılmaz said the number of provinces where the fertility rate was below 1.50 had risen from four in 2017 to 59 in 2025. He noted that Şanlıurfa was the only province where the fertility rate was 3 children or higher, adding that the rate was below 2.1 in 76 provinces.
Citing Turkish Statistical Institute studies, Yılmaz said that if the current downward trend continued, the share of children in the total population could fall from 24.8% to 9.9% by 2100. He said the median age had risen to 34.9 and that the number of provinces where older people accounted for at least 10% of the population had reached 62.
Family and population policies
Yılmaz said the decline in fertility could not be reversed through economic support alone, noting that economic, housing, working-life, education, health and cultural conditions all influenced decisions to start a family and have children.
Yılmaz said a long-term, comprehensive policy framework had been established after 2026-2035 was declared the Decade of Family and Population. He announced that 13 activities and programs had been launched under the Population Action Plan, which consists of seven areas.
Yılmaz said maternity leave had been extended to a total of 24 weeks, comprising eight weeks before childbirth and 16 weeks afterward, while the period for multiple pregnancies was 26 weeks. He added that paternity leave for personal circumstances had been increased to 10 days in all sectors.
Yılmaz said mothers and fathers had been given the option to work part time for 20 hours a week until their child starts primary school following childbirth or adoption. He noted that the one-time birth benefit had been raised to 5,000 liras. He said a regular monthly payment of 1,500 liras for a second child until the child turns five, and 5,000 liras per month for third and subsequent children, had been introduced.
Loans and childcare support for young people
Yılmaz said that, as of 2026, the Family and Youth Fund had begun offering interest-free loans of 250,000 liras to young people aged 18-25 and 200,000 liras to those aged 26-29 in all provinces. He said nearly 250,000 young people had received premarital education and approximately 186,000 loan payments had been made to date.
Yılmaz announced that 17,144 children had been born to 16,874 couples who benefited from the support. He said that, under a project involving 500,000 homes, a 20% quota had been allocated to young people aged 18-30 and a 10% quota to families with three or more children.
Yılmaz said an upper limit had been imposed on annual increases in tuition fees at private educational institutions. He added that 1,205,000 citizens had been reached this year under the Family Education Program.
Yılmaz said the minimum number of children required to open a childcare center in public institutions had been reduced from 50 to 30. He said this paved the way for childcare centers that could operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, according to staff needs. He also recalled that residential projects with more than 150 independent units are required to allocate space for day-care centers for children aged 0-66 months.
Target for women's workforce participation
Yılmaz said 83.6% of households with children under the age of 10 did not receive childcare services from outside the household, identifying the expansion of accessible childcare services as one of the priority areas of work.
Yılmaz said increasing women's workforce participation and employment rates and strengthening equal opportunities for women and men were among the main policy areas of the 2025-2028 National Employment Strategy. He announced that they aimed to raise women's workforce participation above 40% in 2028.
Yılmaz said the target was not limited to bringing women into the labor market and that conditions would also be created to enable women to remain in working life. He said work would continue on digital platforms to ensure that children grow up in healthy and safe environments.
Digital platforms and international initiatives
Yılmaz recalled the regulation banning social network providers from offering services to children under 15 and making age verification mandatory. He said virtual games must be rated according to age appropriateness and parental consent mechanisms made mandatory.
Yılmaz said the Family Institute had been established within the Ministry of Family and Social Services. He said family-protective and population-boosting approaches should also be taken into account in other areas of public policy. He noted that the last week of May had been declared National Family Week.
Yılmaz said social policy had been added to the areas of work of the Organization of Turkic States. He said a joint declaration on protecting the family had been signed at the Meeting of Ministers of Social Policies held in Türkiye. He added that family and population issues had been included among the priorities of the Economic Cooperation Organization and that, at Türkiye's initiative, a proposal to declare a Decade of Family and Population under the Organization of Islamic Cooperation had been accepted at the expert level.
Yılmaz announced that the International Family and Population Conference would be held in Istanbul on October 26-27 under the auspices of the Ministry of Family and Social Services. He said population policies would be pursued with the responsibility of protecting strong family structures and safeguarding the country's future.
Stay Updated with The Turkiye Times
Subscribe to be informed about special news, developments and announcements. We will keep you informed.
By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy
