NewsTürkiye records 17.63 million registered workers and 2.43 million union members in July
The overall unionisation rate eased from January, while the gap between public- and private-sector rates remained wide.
Event / data period: 2026-09
Published: · Updated:
IllustrationTürkiye’s Labour Ministry reported 17,630,475 registered workers and 2,432,789 union members for July 2026 in its September e-bulletin. The ministry’s overall unionisation rate was 13.799%. The bulletin’s publication month is not the reference month used in its tables.
In January 2026, the ministry had reported 16,699,084 registered workers, 2,413,790 union members and a unionisation rate of 14.455%. By July, the registered-worker count had increased by 931,391, while union membership rose by 18,999. The overall rate fell by 0.656 percentage points.
The sector split remained pronounced: unionisation was 76.29% in the public sector and 6.48% in the private sector in July. The bulletin listed 1,648,819 public-sector workers and 1,257,924 public-sector union members; private-sector union membership stood at 1,038,048.
These are ministry statistics for registered workers and union membership, not a count of the entire employed population or labour force. Overall and sector-specific rates should be read with the denominator and coverage used in each table.