Customers walk through the Spice Bazaar in Istanbul as Turkey faces its first economic crisis in decades and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan faces a tough re-election campaign, on September 6, 2022. (Photo by Yasin Akgul/AFP)
The cost of living in Turkey’s most populous city increased by 78.13 percent in December compared to the same month in 2022, a survey conducted by the Istanbul Metropolitan Planning Authority (IPA) revealed.
The IPA, established under the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality in 2020, calculated the cost of living for a family of four in Istanbul in December at TL49,159 ($1,647), an increase of TL21,563 ($722) compared to December 2022.
The biggest price increases over the year were for dental supplies, up 190.69 percent, followed by olive oil, up 136.10 percent.
More than 40 percent of Turkish workers earn the legal minimum wage, set by the government this year at 17,002 Turkish lira ($569).
Turkey is suffering the worst inflation in President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s two-decade rule, with the official annual inflation rate peaking at 85% in October 2022.
After his re-election in May 2023, Erdogan will appoint a new team of market-oriented economists and give himself free rein to sharply raise interest rates.
Turkey’s official annual inflation rate rose to 64.77% in December from 61.98% in November.
Overall, the figures show signs of a stabilizing trend following a series of sharp interest rate hikes by the new economic team.
Analysts have accused Erdogan, who has called high interest rates the “root of all evil”, of sparking an inflationary spiral by forcing the nominally independent central bank to cut borrowing costs in 2021.
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