Birleşik Kamu-İş Hunger-Poverty Research June 2025: Cost of Living Deepens in Turkey!

ANKARA – The Confederation of United Public Workers (Birleşik Kamu-İş) June 2025 Hunger-Poverty Research starkly revealed the alarming extent of rising living costs and the heavy burden on low-income citizens in Turkey. According to calculations made by KAMU-AR for a family of four, the hunger line has exceeded 27,000 Turkish Liras, while the poverty line has approached 83,000 Liras.

June Data Raises Alarm:

• Hunger Line: Increased by 963 Liras compared to the previous month, reaching 27,415 Liras. This represents the minimum food expenditure required for a family of four to maintain a healthy and balanced diet.
• Poverty Line: Influenced by price increases not only in food but also in essential needs such as housing, transportation, household goods, healthcare, and education, it surged by 2,257 Liras to 83,859 Liras.
• Annual Increases: Over the last year, the hunger line rose by 6,841 Liras, and the poverty line by a staggering 22,442 Liras. These figures clearly demonstrate the devastating impact of inflation on household budgets.

Minimum Wage and Retirement Pensions Fall Below the Hunger Line

The research also highlighted the inadequacy of current wages against the deepening cost of living crisis:

• Minimum Wage Situation: The hunger line, which increased by 4,159 Liras in the first six months of the year, exceeded the 22,104 Liras minimum wage (confirmed for the entirety of 2025) by 5,311 Liras. It was emphasized that the minimum wage needs to be increased by at least 24 percent to reach the hunger line. The minimum wage barely covers a family of four's food expenses for just 24 days.
• Retirement Pensions: The lowest retirement pension, set at 14,469 Liras this year, is only sufficient to cover a family's food needs for 16 days.
• Civil Servant Salaries: The lowest civil servant salary (43,716 TL) covers only 52% of the poverty line, while the average civil servant salary (49,599 TL) covers 59%. This indicates that the lowest civil servant salary needs to be increased by at least 92%, and the average civil servant salary by 69% to meet the poverty line.

Increases in Food and Non-Food Expenditures

According to data compiled by KAMU-AR from markets in Ankara, monthly expenditures required for a balanced diet increased as follows:

• Meat-Fish-Eggs: Monthly expenditure rose by 423 Liras to 8,592 Liras.
• Milk, Yogurt, Cheese: Monthly expenditure increased by 142 Liras to 5,494 Liras.
• Vegetables: Increased by 106 Liras to 3,160 Liras, while Fruits rose by 1,141 Liras compared to last year, reaching 3,229 Liras.
• Sugar, Honey, Molasses, Jam: Monthly expenditure increased by 348 Liras to 2,036 Liras.

Non-food expenditures, on the other hand, collectively increased to 56,444 Liras in June. The details of these expenditures are as follows:

• Housing (including rent): Average 15,915 Liras
• Transportation: 15,537 Liras
• Household Goods: 6,749 Liras
• Health: 2,347 Liras
• Education: 1,523 Liras
• Holiday-Hotel: 6,067 Liras

Birleşik Kamu-İş Confederation stated that the rising hunger and poverty lines are unsustainable with current minimum wage, retirement pension, and civil servant salaries. They called on authorities to take urgent measures and make adjustments to wages to compensate for real losses.