Cost of living for one family in Istanbul rises by 71 pct annually
According to the Istanbul Municipality, the average cost of living for a family of four in Istanbul was 66,550 Turkish liras ($1,982) in July, marking a 71.4 percent increase over a year.
Duvar English
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 July as 66,550 Turkish liras ($1,982).
This was nearly four times of the minimum wage (17,002 liras).
The annual (last 12 months) rate of increase was 71.40 percent while the monthly increase was 4.76 percent.
The average cost of living increased by 3,026 liras, from 63,524 liras last month. In dollar terms, this change amounted to an increase of 30 dollars, rising from $1,952 based on the exchange rate of the time.
Looking at the price increases of basic consumption items compared to July of the previous year, the most striking price increases were in olive oil at 112.87%, toilet paper at 106.23%, and feta cheese at 89.61%.
The Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (İTO) has reported that prices in the megacity rose by 4.21 percent in July compared to the previous month, with the annual inflation rate standing at 72.8 percent.