Minimum wage in Turkey falls 2,269 liras below hunger threshold

In Turkey, the hunger threshold surpassed the minimum wage by 2,269 liras in August, reaching 19,271 liras ($565), while the poverty threshold rose to 62,772 liras ($1,842).

Thursday August 29 2024 02:14 pm

Duvar English

Turkey’s hunger threshold, which indicates the minimum amount of money needed to save a four-member family living in Ankara from starvation a month, became 19,271 Turkish liras ($565) in August, according to the monthly report by the Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (Türk-İş).

While the hunger threshold increased by 0.19% month-on-month, it increased by 57.99% in one year.

Meanwhile, the country’s poverty threshold reached 62,772 liras ($1,842) in August, more than three times the minimum wage.

The poverty threshold indicates the money needed for a family of four to feed itself sufficiently and healthily, and it also covers expenditures on basic necessities such as clothing, rent, electricity, water, transportation, education, and health.

Meanwhile, the cost of living for a single worker was 24,692 Turkish liras.

Accordingly, the prices of milk and cheese remained the same in one month, as the prices of yogurt increased by 1.83 percent. Veal and lamb meat prices increased by 1.44 percent and 2.95 percent, respectively. The prices of chicken meat increased by seven percent and eggs by 12.69 percent.

The average price per kilogram of vegetables was 29.56 liras in August and for fruit, it was 60.83 liras.

The state-run Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) reported annual inflation at 61.78 percent for July, whereas independent inflation research group ENAG put the figure at 100.88 percent.