Number of higher education students in Turkey in academic year 2023/2024, by degree

In Turkey, approximately 7.08 million students enrolled in the higher education programs for the academic year 2022/2023, of which over 3.7 million started studying to receive their bachelor's degrees. Additionally, more than 2.8 million students enrolled in associate studies, which is a two-year higher education program in Turkey.

Higher education sector

As of 2012, compulsory education in Turkey consists of 12 years and is divided into three levels: primary, elementary, and secondary education. If successful, students might continue their studies at a university, after taking the National University Entrance Examination. Although the higher education sector is mainly dominated by the public universities, there are also 75 private universities in Turkey for students to choose from. According to the Times Higher Education ranking, two of the top three universities in Turkey were also private institutions. Koç and Sabanci Universities, which are located in Istanbul, placed first on the list, along with Middle East Technical University which was a public institution located in the capital city of Ankara. 

Education level of the Turkish society

Following the declaration of the Turkish Republic, a letter revolution was made in the country with replacing The Ottoman Turkish script with the Latin alphabet in 1928. Since then, the education level of the Turkish society has been increasing. In 2023, approximately 1.8 million people in Turkey were illiterate, compared to almost five million in 2008. This represented around three percent of the inhabitants of the country. In addition to that, the share of the population with a university or other higher education degree reached 21 percent as of 2023.