Cost of living for a family of four exceeds 53,000 liras in Istanbul
The average cost of living for a family of four in megacity Istanbul reached above 53,000 liras ($1729) in January, increasing by an average of 80.29% in the last year, the Istanbul Municipality Planning Agency (İPA) said.
Duvar English
Opposition-run Istanbul Municipality’s Planning Agency (İPA) has revealed data showing that the cost of living in Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city, has increased by an average of 80.29% in the last year.
Accordingly, the average cost of living for a family of four in the megacity reached 53,058 liras ($1729) in January, about three times higher than the minimum wage (17,002 liras), the agency reported on Oct. 3.
According to its calculations, the inflation rate jumped 7.93% month on month in January alongside wage hikes.
One of the most striking price changes in January compared to December was seen in the child t-shirt category with an increase of 39.90%, followed by bean and pasta with increases of 11.72% and 11.51% respectively.
Turkey's official statistical authority, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK), reported the annual inflation rate as 64.86 percent in January while the independent inflation group ENAG put the figure at 129.11 percent.