Cost of living for one family in Istanbul rises by 56 pct annually
According to the Istanbul Municipality, the average cost of living for a family of four in Istanbul was 82,880 Turkish liras ($2,304) in January, marking a 56.2 percent increase over a year.
Ümit Buget / DUVAR
The Istanbul Planning Agency (IPA) affiliated with the Istanbul Municipality has calculated the average cost of living for a family of four in the megacity in January as 82,880 Turkish liras ($2,304).
This was nearly four times of the new minimum wage (22,104 liras).
The annual (last 12 months) rate of increase was 56.2 percent while the monthly increase was 7.1 percent.
The average cost of living increased by 5,495 liras from last month.
Looking at the price increases of basic consumption items compared to January of the previous year, the most striking price increases were in baby food at 67.43 percent, and meat-minced meat at 55.1 percent.
The state-run Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) reported annual inflation at 42.12 percent for January, whereas the independent inflation research group ENAG put the figure at 81.02 percent.
Last month, the Turkish government announced a 30-percent hike in the minimum wage for 2025, a figure below the annual inflation rate.
(English version by Alperen Şen)