70 percent of Turks pessimistic about country's future, poll reveals

Almost 70 percent of Turkey's population believes the country is headed in a bad direction, a December survey from private polling firm Metropoll revealed. Similarly, almost 70 percent said that their welfare had decreased over the past year.

Monday January 04 2021 01:30 pm

Duvar English

Almost 70 percent of Turkey's population thinks that the country is headed in a bad direction, a December survey from private polling firm Metropoll revealed, marking the highest proportion of "pessimists" in the past five years.

While 64.8 percent said that Turkey was in decline, some 21.7 percent said that the country was improving.

Similarly, 63.8 percent of the respondents said that their comfort level had declined over the past year, while a record low 8.4 percent said that their welfare had deteriorated during the same period.

Some 27.1 percent said that their well-being had remained stagnant over the past year, a surprising percentage considering the widespread devastation brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

A shocking 80 percent of respondents said that they experienced inflation levels surpassing the Turkish Statistical Institute's (TÜİK) official number, most recently 14 percent.

While 51 percent of respondents projected the inflation level to be above 30 percent, a mere 12 percent of respondents said that they believe TÜİK's numbers.

Some 30 percent of respondents said that they would vote for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) if elections were held tomorrow, with a mere six percent choosing the ruling alliance partner Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).

Meanwhile, respondents were split almost exactly down the middle when it came to the COVID-19 vaccine, with 51.5 percent saying they would receive it when it becomes available to them, and 48.5 percent saying they would refuse to.