A recent OECD report has placed Turkey at the top of the global list in terms of concerns surrounding the capacity to afford all four essential items: food, housing, home energy and debt repayment.
The survey, conducted in October 2022, indicates that 70 percent of respondents in Turkey are struggling to cover these fundamental needs amid an annual inflation rate of 85.5 percent recorded at the time of the survey.
This high level of concern, the report suggests, surpasses those expressed by respondents from Chile, Mexico, Portugal, Spain, Greece, Canada, Poland, Israel and the United States. It paints a worrying picture of economic strain on households in Turkey as they grapple with soaring inflation.
In contrast, Denmark was the country with the least number of worried individuals, with less than 30 percent of respondents expressing concern over the same basic expenses. Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, South Korea, Belgium, Finland, Slovenia, Estonia and Norway also reported lower levels of concern.
The report further highlighted that more than 85 percent of respondents from Greece were either “somewhat” or “very concerned” about their ability to pay all expenses and make ends meet in the next two years. Chile, Turkey and Spain followed closely, each with over 80 percent expressing similar concerns.
In terms of potential job or income loss, Turkey also ranked high. Just over 70 percent of Turkish respondents expressed concern about the prospect of losing a job or self-employment income in the coming two years. However, in this category, Mexico led the list with over 75 percent of respondents expressing such concern, followed by Greece and Chile.
Over the past several years, Turkey has been suffering from a deteriorating economy, with high inflation and unemployment. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is criticized for mishandling the economy, emptying the state’s coffers and establishing one-man rule in the country where dissent is suppressed and opponents are jailed on politically motivated charges.
The lira, which traded at 26.91 to the US dollar on Tuesday, has weakened 30 percent so far this year.
