One in five people in Turkey now use AI, official data show – Turkish Minute

Turkey has published its first official statistics on artificial intelligence, showing that nearly one in five people in the country now use the technology, along with 7.5 percent of businesses. Adoption is highest among young people and large companies, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat).

The “Artificial Intelligence Statistics, 2025,” released Wednesday, are based on two annual surveys covering businesses and households. They show a steady rise in AI use since 2021, when only 2.7 percent of businesses reported using the technology. By 2025 that share had climbed to 7.5 percent, rising to 24.1 percent among companies with more than 250 employees.

AI use is most common in the information and communications sector, where nearly half of companies (47.1 percent) employ it, followed by finance and insurance (21.1 percent) and computer repair and maintenance (15.2 percent). Marketing and sales emerged as the leading business application at 46.5 percent, followed by production or service at 41.1 percent, research and development at 41 percent and business administration or management at 40 percent.

Among companies not yet using AI, 9 percent said they plan to adopt it soon. Lack of expertise (74.2 percent), high costs (67.4 percent) and legal uncertainty (62.4 percent) were cited as key barriers.

Among individuals 19.2 percent reported using generative AI tools in 2025. Usage peaked at 39.4 percent among people aged 16 to 24 but dropped to less than 2 percent in the 65–74 age group. Education strongly shaped adoption: While 36.1 percent of graduates of higher education said they use AI, only 2.2 percent of primary school graduates did so. Overall, men (19.4 percent) and women (18.8 percent) reported similar levels of use.

Most people said they use AI for personal purposes, with nearly 80 percent citing private needs compared to one-third for professional tasks and 31 percent for education. Of those not using AI, 63.3 percent said they simply did not feel the need, while others cited lack of knowledge, uncertainty about how to use it or privacy concerns.

The release marks the first time TurkStat has provided an official snapshot of AI adoption in Turkey, establishing a baseline for future monitoring. The institute said updated figures will be published annually, with the next report scheduled for October 2026.

Turkey has been pursuing AI under a National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (2021–2025), launched to coordinate efforts across sectors and infrastructure. The government followed this with a 2024–2025 action plan that includes more than 70 measures, such as training AI experts, building a “Central Public Data Space” and aligning regulation with global norms.

Turkey does not yet have a dedicated AI law. In June 2024 the country introduced a draft Artificial Intelligence Regulation Bill that would ban discriminatory data sets, require that harmful AI content be removed within six hours and impose fines of up to 10 million lira for violations. The bill, presented as part of Turkey’s effort to strengthen digital sovereignty while aligning with global standards such as the European Union’s AI Act, has not yet been passed. The country’s data protection authority has also issued guidelines on ethical use.