According to data obtained by the Anatolia news agency from the Turkish Statistics Institute (TürkStat), the average life expectancy for Turkish nationals increased from 70.9 years in 2003 to 73.7 years in 2009. The gap in the differences of average life expectancy between women and men decreased slightly from 4.8 years to 4.6 years. According to these figures, women and men in Turkey were living for 73.4 years and 68.6 years, respectively, in 2003 while in 2009 the averages increased to 76.1 years and 71.5 years, respectively. The notable increase in life expectancy coincided with the speedy growth Turkey has attained particularly in the past decade. Between 2003 and 2009, Turkey's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by over 4 percent despite a severe 4.7 percent contraction in 2009 due to the global financial crisis. As a sign of that economic growth, the average use of electricity per person in Turkey rose from 1,581 kWh in 2003 to 2,162 kWh two years ago.
The number of vehicles per 1,000 people in the country was 66.5 in 2003 but soared to just below 100 in 2009, yet another sign of the increase in people’s wealth which correlates with the change in average life expectancies in Turkey.
Prof. Nilüfer Narlı from Bahçeşehir University’s sociology department says the improvement in average life expectancy is also related to an increasing value attached to human life in Turkey. “People in the country have started to be more conscious of [the value] of healthcare. Information relating to healthcare has also become more accessible. The anti-aging subject has been, for example, frequently discussed on TV and in the papers. Likewise, people have started to do more sports than they used to. They are paying more attention to leading a healthier life thanks to increased [financial] means,” she said in a phone interview with Today’s Zaman on Monday from her office in İstanbul. Narlı added that the Turkish government has also played a role in making these changes real by increasing budget allotments to education and healthcare around the country.
The data obtained by Anatolia also suggested that infant mortality -- another indicator of a country’s development level -- in Turkey decreased from 2.5 percent to less than 2.1 percent from 2003 to 2009. In line with Narlı’s assessment of the data, enrollments in education have substantially increased. Enrollments at primary education level, which were 91 percent in 2003, increased to 97.4 percent in 2009. Likewise, enrollment levels in secondary education were 50.4 percent in 2003 and rose to 58.5 percent by 2009. The most notable rise in education was recorded with university enrollments which surged to over 27 percent from less than 15 percent in the six year period between 2003 and 2009.
The average life expectancy in Turkey increased by almost three years between 2003 and 2009 as a result of the country’s economic development. Professor Nilüfer Narlı says increased spending on education and healthcare has played a role in that positive change
|
