ANKARA - Turkish State Minister Murat Basesgioglu said Friday that Turkey had a greater young population than many European countries, however this opportunity should be evaluated well by the country.
"Otherwise, we will feel the pain of being a public with an old population," he said.
Basesgioglu attended the presentation of a report of UN Development Programme (UNDP) on "Youth in Turkey" in capital Ankara.
Delivering a speech at the presentation, Basesgioglu said Turkey was home to nearly 13 million young people between the ages of 15-24, adding that the population between the ages of 10-24 was nearly 19 million.
"These figures are higher than the total population of many countries in Europe," he said.
Basesgioglu also said, if Turkey did not take the necessary initiatives on time to prepare its young population for the future, it would not be able to benefit from such an opportunity.
(DO-AY)