2 million children in Turkey live in deep poverty

Duvar English

According to a 2024 study by Ekrem Cünedioğlu and Yağmur Uzunırmak published under the Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkiye (TEPAV), child poverty in the country has been steadily increasing over the years as million of children live under adverse conditions.

As Turkey mourns the tragic death of five siblings who died in a fire caused by a stove while their mother was out collecting scrap to support them, the issue of child poverty remains a persistent problem.

The TEPAV study, which breaks down data by age groups, identified an upward trend in poverty rates among 0-2 year-old infants and 3-14 year-old children. In 2017, the poverty rate for infants was 36.8%, rising to 41.4% by 2022. Similarly, the poverty rate for all children increased from 40.8% to 43.8% over the same period.

According to per capita income calculations, poverty rates were significantly higher among infants and children. In 2022, the poverty rate reached 41.4% for infants (0-2 years), 43.8% for children (3-14 years), 29.9% for young adults (15-24 years), and 18.2% for those aged 25 and over.

In another study published by TEPAV, economist Hakan Yılmaz, using EUROSTAT data and his own calculations, found that the child poverty rate in 2023 was 34.4%. 

This rate, which ranged between 33-34% until 2020, has exceeded 34% since 2021. The study also identified that 2 million children are living in conditions of deep poverty.

According to the report, Turkey has a higher rate of child poverty than all the European Union (EU) countries. While the child poverty rate in Turkey exceeds 30%, the average for the 27 EU countries is around 19%.