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A single worker in Türkiye needed at least ₺32,463 — approximately $827.27 — to meet basic monthly living expenses in May 2025, the Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (Turk-Is) reported on Friday.
This figure represents the minimum amount required to cover essential expenses such as food, housing, transportation, and personal care — roughly 1.5 times the current minimum wage of ₺22,104.
Turk-Is also found that a family of four needed ₺25,092 ($639) per month to afford a healthy and adequate diet — referred to as the “hunger threshold.”
The total amount required to maintain a reasonable standard of living, including non-food essentials such as housing, clothing, education, and healthcare, reached ₺81,734, or roughly $2,692. This figure defines the “poverty threshold.”
In Ankara, where Turk-Is conducts price monitoring, food expenditures for a family of four rose by 4.40% compared to the previous month. Over the past year, food prices increased by 32.28%, while the average annual rise reached 47.62%, indicating ongoing cost-of-living pressures.
Meanwhile, Türkiye's annual inflation eased to 37.86% in April, marking the 11th consecutive month of decline.
Turk-Is prepares the monthly report to raise awareness about the economic challenges faced by workers and to track shifts in the affordability of basic needs in Türkiye.
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