In Turkey, where the purchasing power of the citizens is gone and new price hikes are made every day, the economic statistics have reached terrible proportions. While 1 out of every 5 citizens in Turkey lives in poverty, the minimum wage, which was raised with great courage, remained below the hunger limit. On the other hand, per capita income, fell for the first time in the history of the Republic in a row in last 7 years.
Statistics are astonishing in Turkey, where the economic crisis continues and has almost become a country of hikes. According to the researches, in the last 7 years, while the citizens have become poorer by 3,513 dollars, 1 out of every 5 people in Turkey is poor. In Turkey, where inflation is at its peak, the price difference between the producer and the market for products has become more than 4 times, while the minimum wage has not even been able to meet the hunger limit beyond the poverty line. Felicity (Saadet) Party Social Affairs Presidency compiled the statistics into a report.
1 OF EVERY 5 PEOPLE IS POOR IN TURKEY
In Turkey, where poverty has deepened with the economic crisis, every 1 person of 5 is poor. According to Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT) data, the number of poor has increased by 11,5 percent in the last 4 years. The number of poor, which was 15,864,000 in 2017, increased by 1,343,000 people in 2019 and reached 17,207,000 people. This figure reached 17,691,000 people in 2020. The poverty rate rose to 21,9 percent.
CITIZENS POORED BY 3,513 DOLLARS
Per capita income, fell for the first time in the history of the Republic, in last 7 years, in a row. While the national income per capita was 12,112 in US dollars in 2012, in 2020, when the coronavirus panemic took place, the growth rate was 1,8 percent, but the per capita national income in US dollars fell to 8,599. Therefore, in the last seven years, the citizen has become impoverished by 3,513 dollars. According to TURKSTAT, inflation increased by 4,81 monthly in February and rose to 54,44 on an annual basis.
HUNGER LIMIT EXCEEDED THE MINIMUM WAGE
While food inflation rose to 64,47 percent in February, Turkey became the fourth country with the highest food inflation rate. Lebanon ranked first with 483 percent, followed by Venezuela with 389 percent and Suriname with 67,7 percent. While the hunger and poverty line increased in February, according to the research of ‘Türk-İş’ Labour Union, the hunger limit for a family of 4 was 4,552 Turkish Liras (TL) and the poverty line was 15,139 TL in February. The hunger limit was 300 TL above the 2022 minimum wage (4,253 TL). Inflation reached an astonishing figure among retirees. According to the calculations of The Research Center of Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey (DİSK-AR), the food inflation of the retirees was 82,1 percent in February, while the food inflation of the lowest income 20 percent was 95,2 percent.
THE CENTERAL BANK’S RESERVES MELT!
The Central Bank's foreign exchange reserves continue to melt. In the week ending February 25, net foreign exchange reserves decreased by $1,61 billion to $18,2 billion. The deficit in foreign trade is also growing. According to foreign trade data, exports increased by 17,2 percent in January compared to the same month of the previous year, and reached 17 billion 587 million dollars, while imports increased by 54,2 percent to 27 billion 848 million dollars. Foreign trade deficit increased by 234,9 percent in January compared to the same month of the previous year and rose to 10 billion 261 million dollars. While the ratio of exports to imports was 83 percent in January 2021, it decreased to 63,2 percent last month.