Which Professions Are the Most Lucrative in Turkey? TÜİK Reveals
The Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) has released the 2023 Earnings Structure Statistics report. According to the report, the gross minimum wage for November 2023 is determined to be 13,414.5 TL. The monthly average gross salary per person is reported as 23,789 TL.
Male employees received a higher gross salary than female employees; for men, this amount is 24,011 TL, while for women, it is 23,344 TL.
Gender differences were notable in average monthly earnings. According to TÜİK data, the average gross earnings per person amounted to 26,402 TL. Men's monthly average gross earnings were 26,638 TL, while for women, this figure was set at 25,931 TL. Significant gender differences were also observed in the number of hours worked per month, with men working an average of 205 hours and women 190 hours.
The average gross hourly wage was recorded at 119 TL. Notably, a gender wage gap favored women; men earned an average of 117 TL per hour, while women received 123 TL in gross wages.
Impact of Higher Education on Annual Earnings When evaluating annual average gross earnings, a notable figure of 305,784 TL appears. For men, this income is 314,242 TL, whereas for women, it was determined to be 289,720 TL. The influence of education level on earnings was striking, as those with higher education recorded the highest annual average gross earnings. For men, this figure was 431,364 TL, while for women, it reached 354,149 TL.
Being a higher education graduate also provided an advantage in gross wages. At this education level, men earned 364,370 TL, and women earned 301,073 TL in gross wages.
Earnings Differentiations by Sectors When evaluated based on economic activities, the highest annual average gross earnings of 640,739 TL were observed in the finance and insurance sector. This was followed by information and communication with 605,317 TL, and culture, arts, entertainment, recreation, and sports activities with 461,514 TL.
Conversely, the lowest annual average gross earnings were seen in accommodation and food services at 213,518 TL, followed by real estate activities at 218,815 TL, and other service activities at 227,284 TL. The report highlighted that in certain sectors, the annual average gross earnings of female employees exceeded those of male employees. In transportation and storage, female employees earned 414,502 TL, and in electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning production and distribution, they earned 453,413 TL.
Earnings Varying by Occupation Groups In the analysis by occupation groups, the highest annual average gross earnings were reported in the management group at 538,530 TL. This was followed by professional occupation members at 409,767 TL. The lowest annual average gross earnings were found in the qualified agriculture, forestry, and fishery workers group at 202,809 TL.
The gender wage gap existed in favor of men across all education levels. The highest gap was 20% among high school graduates, while the lowest gap was 14.9% among primary school and below graduates. Similarly, the annual average gross wage difference was highest at 17.4% among higher education graduates and lowest at 13.2% among primary school and below graduates.
Gender Disparities in Occupation Groups The report also revealed that gender wage and income disparities persist among different occupation groups. The highest earnings gap occurred in the artisans and related jobs group at 23.5%, followed by technicians, technical staff, and assistant professionals at 22.9%. The most significant separation in wage gap was among professional occupation members at 21.1%, while the smallest gaps were reported at 2% for managers and 7.2% for service and sales personnel.