Türkiye flag Türkiye: Operating a Business in Türkiye

Work conditions in Türkiye

The Active Population in Figures

	2023	2024	2025
Labour Force	34,896,394	35,733,019	35,532,778

Source: International Labour Organization, ILOSTAT database

	2022	2023	2024
Total activity rate	59.17%	59.53%	60.59%
Men activity rate	78.17%	78.01%	78.93%
Women activity rate	39.98%	40.86%	42.06%

Source: International Labour Organization, ILOSTAT database

Working Conditions

Legal Weekly Duration: 45 hours
Retirement Age: There is no longer a minimum retirement age.
Working Contracts: Work contracts are governed by individual negotiation. The formality of the work contract and the conditions of dismissal are rigid (dismissals must be justified only if the firm has more than 30 employees).
Labour Laws: Doing Business: Turkey, to obtain a summary of labour regulations that apply to local enterprises

Cost of Labour

Minimum Wage

The gross monthly minimum wage is TRY 33,030 (approx. USD 759), as updated by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security effective 1 January 2026.

Average Wage

Monthly average gross earnings was 26 402 TRY (approx. USD 602) in 2023, according to Turkstat.

Social Contributions

Social Security Contributions Paid By Employers:

Total social contributions paid by employees are 22.5%

Short-term social security contributions 2%
Disability, old age, death 11%
General health insurance 7.5%
Unemployment 2%

Social Security Contributions Paid By Employees:

All employees, including foreign nationals, are subject to compulsory social security. Total social contributions paid by employees are 15%

Disability, old age, death 9%
General health insurance 5%
Unemployment 1%

Social Partners

Social Dialogue and Involvement of Social Partners: Unions in Turkey are generally not that powerful, though they are stronger in the public or semi-public sectors.
Labour Unions: DISK: Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey
Hak-Is
Turk-Is: Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions
BASK
HAKSEN
Unionisation Rate: The unionisation rate in Turkey is currently relatively low. According to OECD data, trade union density was 6.3% in 2013, a steep decline from 28% in 2000.
Labour Regulation Bodies: Ministry of Labour and Social Security
Turkish Industry and Business Association
Turkish Confederation of Employer Associations

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