The cost of living in Turkey’s most populous city of İstanbul for a family of four increased by 49.09 percent in May when compared to the same month of 2024, according to the results of a recent survey.
The survey, conducted by the İstanbul Planning Agency (IPA), calculated the cost of living in İstanbul for a family of four to be TL 91,722 ($2,344) in May, more than four times the minimum wage of TL 22,104 ($563).
The cost of living in İstanbul stood at TL 61,523 in May 2024.
The monthly increase in the cost of living in the city was 1.88 percent in April, when it stood at TL 90,032, according to the IPA.
The cost of living in İstanbul exceeded the poverty line of TL 81,733 ($2,088), calculated by the Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (Türk-İş) last month.
The poverty line refers to the total amount a family of four needs to live without feeling deprived of food and the money required to pay other expenses such as rent and utilities.
Turkey is suffering the worst bout of inflation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s two-decade rule. The official annual inflation rate peaked at 85 percent in October 2022.
After winning re-election in May 2023, Erdoğan appointed a new team of market-friendly economists that was given the freedom to sharply hike its policy rate.
According to data announced by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) on Tuesday, Turkey’s annual rate of inflation eased further in May to 35.4 percent, reaching its lowest level since November 2021.
However, the ENAG group of independent economists disputes the official inflation rate, estimating it at 71.2 percent in May.
Over the past several years Turkey has been suffering from a deteriorating economy, with high inflation and unemployment, as well as a poor human rights record. Erdoğan is criticized for mishandling the economy, emptying the state’s coffers and establishing one-man rule in the country where dissent is suppressed and opponents are jailed on politically motivated charges.