The cost of living in Turkey’s most populous city of İstanbul for a family of four increased by 60.4 percent in October when compared with the same month of 2023, according to the results of a recent survey.
The survey, conducted by the İstanbul Planning Agency (IPA) of the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality, calculated the cost of living in İstanbul for a family of four to be TL 73,739 ($2,152) in October, more than four times the minimum wage of TL 17,002 ($496).
The cost of living in İstanbul stood at TL 45,956 in October 2023.
The monthly increase in the cost of living in the city was 3.23 percent in September, when it stood at TL 71,431, according to the IPA.
Among basic consumer goods, one of the most striking price increases occurred in baby formula, which surged by 58.92 percent in October compared with the same month in 2023. The price of bread rose by 46.63 percent and the price of sunflower oil increased by 64.61 percent.
Turkey is suffering the worst bout of inflation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s two-decade rule. The official annual inflation rate peaked at 85 percent in October 2022.
After winning re-election in May 2023, Erdoğan appointed a new team of market-friendly economists that was given the freedom to sharply hike its policy rate.
According to data announced by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) on Monday, Turkey’s annual rate of inflation fell less than expected to 48.6 percent in October from above 49 percent in September.
However, ENAG, an independent group of economists, stated that annual inflation was much higher than TurkStat’s announcement, standing at 89.7 percent in October. ENAG also reported that the increase in monthly inflation was 5.5 percent last month, contrary to the 2.8 percent announced by TurkStat.