Gender Differences and Regional Disparities in Youth NEET Status: Empirical Evidence for Türkiye

Abstract

Introduction: This study measures youth NEET (not in employment, education, or training) in Türkiye and identifies its main correlates, with emphasis on gender gaps and regional inequality. The objective is to describe how human capital, household constraints, and place-based conditions shape NEET risk in 2022.

Method: Nationally representative 2022 Household Labor Force Survey microdata for ages 15–29 (N=123,834) is analyzed using binary logit models estimated for the full sample and separately by gender. Covariates include age (and squared), education, marital status, household size, child-under-six indicator, and NUTS-1 regions; results are reported as average marginal effects with household-clustered standard errors.

Results or Findings: The NEET rate is 26.6% overall, with a large gender gap (36.5% for women; 16.8% for men). NEET probability declines strongly with higher education, but gender differences remain across education levels. Regional disparities are substantial, with higher NEET prevalence in disadvantaged regions. Marriage and young-child presence are strongly associated with higher NEET probability among women, while associations for men are weaker and often opposite in sign.

Discussion or Conclusion: NEET in Türkiye reflects regional inequality, education gradients, and gendered household constraints that raise women’s inactivity. Priorities include reducing early school leaving, improving school-to-work transitions, expanding childcare, and targeting activation and quality formal job creation in high-NEET regions. Future work should identify causal program impacts using longitudinal or policy-variation designs.