Some 16,000 businesses were closed between March 1 and April 30, when Turkey imposed measures to halt the spread of the coronavirus, the Diken news website reported.
The figure was provided by Commerce Minister Ruhsar Pekcan in response to a parliamentary question submitted by Ömer Fethi Gürer, a deputy from the Republican People’s Party (CHP).
However, Pekcan did not answer a question about the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits during this period.
She also said nearly 80,000 new businesses were registered.
Gürer said the number of closed businesses would increase in the coming months as the virus outbreak has hit the Turkish economy hard.
According to a CHP report from early May, one out of every four İstanbul residents has lost their job amid the pandemic.