Survey findings highlight the 9 most dissatisfied cities, with a significant focus on the Black Sea region
The Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) recently released a national survey on Tuesday, shedding light on the living conditions of Turkish residents. The survey, known as the Life Satisfaction Survey, has highlighted certain provinces, particularly those in the Black Sea region, as having a notably higher share of residents reporting dissatisfaction[1].
The survey results draw attention to the Black Sea region, which has a notable concentration of lower life satisfaction, according to the data[2]. To provide a clearer picture, the survey was scaled to the population to determine a per-capita "unhappiness" rate.
Contributing factors to this dissatisfaction likely include regional socioeconomic disparities. For instance, general poverty affects about 30% of the population, with children particularly vulnerable to poverty and deprivation[2]. Economic conditions, such as limited employment opportunities and lower income levels compared to major urban centers, could also be at play.
Additional factors that might lead to lower satisfaction include access to services and infrastructure. Rural or less-developed provinces may have insufficient healthcare, education, and transport services. Regional social factors, such as demographic trends, migration patterns, and community cohesion, might also influence perceptions of quality of life. The urban-rural divide is another significant factor, with dissatisfaction noted not only in small cities but also in large centers like Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir[1].
While the survey does not provide a detailed causative analysis, these general socioeconomic dynamics and regional disparities commonly contribute to lower life satisfaction in specific Turkish provinces as measured by TurkStat. The survey identified the nine cities with the highest share of residents reporting dissatisfaction[1]. Istanbul, however, landed around the middle of the list[1].
[1] TurkStat, Life Satisfaction Survey results, 2022. [2] World Bank, Poverty rate (%) in Turkey, 2021.
- Ankara, the capital city of Turkiye, is also among the urban centers with documented dissatisfaction rates, indicating that the general socioeconomic dynamics and regional disparities identified in the survey could be influencing perceptions of quality of life in variousTurkish provinces.
- While Istanbul's dissatisfaction rate is relatively lower compared to some cities in the Black Sea region, it still appears on the list of nine cities with the highest share of residents reporting dissatisfaction, suggesting that the urban-rural divide is a significant factor in countrywide life satisfaction levels.
- The Life Satisfaction Survey by TurkStat reveals that provinces in the Black Sea region and other less-developed cities, such as Ankara and Istanbul, have a disproportionately higher number of Turkish residents reporting dissatisfaction, which could be linked to socioeconomic disparities, limited employment opportunities, and insufficient access to services and infrastructure.
