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Türkiye recorded 239,166,000 medical examinations in the first half of 2025 across public, training and research hospitals, and private facilities — nearly three times the nation’s population.
Main opposition MP Mustafa Sarigul, citing 2024 poverty and living conditions data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK), said 29% of Türkiye’s population faces poverty or social exclusion, equal to about 25 million people. Among them, 3.6 million households live in extreme poverty.
Sarigul warned of the health consequences: “If 172,000 children go to bed hungry, 4 million households cannot pay electricity bills, and 40 out of 100 people cannot afford meat, you cannot expect that society to be healthy. Deep poverty causes deep wounds.”
He linked poverty-driven malnutrition and stress to rising illness rates, saying: “85 million citizens became ill three times in just six months.” Sarigul argued that the reasons behind such high hospital visits must be examined.
Sarigul also reported a sharp rise in antidepressant use amid economic crisis, unemployment and financial strain.
In 2014, 39,134,225 boxes of antidepressants were used; by 2024, the figure had jumped 67% to 65,591,252 boxes.
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