 has revealed that the meals of 41.1 percent of residents in the country’s economic capital were reduced in size last month because they were unable to obtain enough food.){kind=link}
A recent report by the İstanbul Planning Agency (IPA) has revealed that the meals of 41.1 percent of residents in the country’s economic capital were reduced in size last month because they were unable to obtain enough food.
The IPA on Thursday released its “İstanbul Barometer Report – July 2024,” showing the results of a survey conducted between August 1 and 12 with the participation of 1,002 residents of the city, which has a population of more than 16 million.
The report showed that financial hardship is significantly affecting people residing in İstanbul, with 40.3 percent of participants saying they could only get by with great difficulty. While 51.5 percent said they were unable to purchase the food they wanted due to financial constraints last month, 41.1 percent said the size of their meals was reduced because they were unable to obtain sufficient food.
Only 19.5 percent of participants said they believe the Turkish economy would improve, while 24.3 percent said they believe their own finances would improve, and 33.6 percent said they were able to make only the minimum payments on their credit card debt.
Turkey’s poor and middle-income families have been hit the hardest by an economic crisis that saw the official annual inflation rate reach a decades-high of 85 percent in October 2022. The rate then fell off with fluctuations.
According to official data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat), the annual rate of inflation stood at 61.78 percent in July, but ENAG, an independent group of economists, disputed TurkStat data and said annual inflation was much higher than was announced by TurkStat, standing at 100.88 percent in July.
The high cost of living in the country makes it difficult for millions to buy even their basic necessities and pay their rent and bills.
When asked about the top three problems faced by İstanbulites, 60.3 percent of participants said “asylum seekers and refugees,” while 51 percent cited “economic problems.”
When asked about the top three problems in İstanbul itself, 52 percent of participants cited “refugees and migrants,” 50 percent said “financial problems” and 49.8 percent named the “looming İstanbul earthquake.”
In 2001, two years after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake left 17,000 people dead in northwest Turkey, experts calculated a 65 percent probability that a quake with a magnitude above 7 would occur before 2030 in the same region — which includes İstanbul.
The risk climbs to 75 percent in 50 years and 95 percent in 90 years.