Hunger threshold for family of four spikes in Turkey in June
Duvar English
Turkey’s poverty threshold increased to 33,789 liras in June 2023, nearly three times the new minimum wage (11,402 liras), data from the Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (Türk-İş) showed, remaining the same with the previous month.
The poverty line represents the amount required to feed a family of four adequately and healthfully, as well as to compensate for other essentials including clothing, rent, energy, water, transportation, education, and healthcare.
The hunger threshold, the amount of money needed to prevent a four-person family from being starved for an entire month, rose to 10,373 liras in June from 10,360 liras in May.
Furthermore, the monthly cost of living of a single employee was 13,471 liras in June.
According to the survey of Türk-İş, the minimum amount of food expenditure for a family of four living in the capital Ankara rose by 0.10 percent on a monthly basis and 60 percent on an annual basis in June.
In a recent move, Turkey has increased the minimum wage by 34 percent for the second half of 2023, from 8,500 liras to 11,402 liras.
Although the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) announced an annual inflation rate of 39.59% in May, ENAG Inflation Research Group, an independent institution set up in 2020 to track the country’s inflation, reported the inflation rate as 105.45%.
