A striking aspect of inequality in Turkey is regional disparity, with the Eastern and South-eastern regions less prosperous than the west. These disparities are of long historical standing and are partly due to less advantageous levels of natural and human resources -- and to the fact that the coastal areas along the Mediterranean sea enjoy better access to world and regional markets.

One of the population groups who have traditionally been economically disadvantaged in Turkey have been women, particularly in distant rural areas and in the shanty towns of large cities. The last 25 years have shown improvements in women's living standards in Turkey. But with the exception of life expectancy, all available indicators tend to be worse for women than for men and generally Turkey does worse on gender indicators including participation to paid labor force, than comparable middle-income countries. The economic situation of women in less developed regions  is even worse. In the southeast Anatolia region, women’s participation in paid labor is an alarming 3.72 %, compared to 19.9% in Turkey which is already very low compared to EU and other middle income countries. The agricultural labor force is predominantly female. These statistics illustrate that the women of the region face the multiple barriers that exclude them to exercise their basic rights to participate in the meaningful life of their community.

Another population group which is mostly affected from migration trends and the economic downturns is youth. While the 2008 unemployment figures for the whole population is 11%, the youth unemployment rate for the same year is as high as 21.5%. This makes them feel insecure and desperate particularly about their future, as can be seen from the National Human Development Report published in 2008.