Hunger and poverty thresholds announced! It has reached 3.5 times the minimum wage...

The United Public Workers Confederation (Birleşik Kamu-İş), through its R&D unit KAMU-AR, has announced the May 2024 results of its hunger-poverty threshold research. The study calculates the expenditures a family of four must make to consume a balanced and healthy diet, as well as to meet their other needs in a manner worthy of human dignity and without feeling deprivation.

NON-FOOD POVERTY THRESHOLD IS 28 THOUSAND 201 LIRA

While the hunger threshold increased by 36 lira in May compared to the previous month, the expenditure required for non-food needs rose by 1,110 lira to 39,426 lira. The poverty threshold, which is the sum of both, increased by 1,148 lira compared to the previous month. Over the last year, the hunger threshold recorded an increase of 8,116 lira, the expenditure required for non-food needs recorded an increase of 20 thousand 84 lira, and the poverty threshold recorded an increase of 28 thousand 201 lira.

HUNGER THRESHOLD INCREASED BY 3 THOUSAND 443 IN 5 MONTHS

According to prices compiled from the most frequented markets in Ankara, the monthly amount that must be spent on meat, fish, and eggs for a balanced diet decreased by 2 lira in May compared to the previous month, while it increased by 2,541 lira annually to 5,995 lira. The expenditure required for dried legumes remained unchanged from the previous month, while it rose to 422 lira with an increase of 166 lira compared to the same month last year.

The expenditure required for milk, yogurt, and cheese, which increased by 160 lira compared to the previous month to 4,545 lira, saw an increase of 1,774 lira over the last year. The money that needs to be spent on fruit increased by 86 lira in May and by 992 lira compared to the same month last year, reaching 1,972 lira, while vegetable expenditure decreased by 316 lira compared to the previous month and increased by 768 lira compared to the same month last year, reaching 2,131 lira. 

While the expenditure required for products such as bread, flour, and pasta increased by 31 lira in May to 1,572 lira, rice and bulgur expenditures remained unchanged at 826 lira. The expenditure required for oil increased by 14 lira, reaching 566 lira.

The expenditure required for food items such as sugar, honey, molasses, and jam increased by 63 lira in May compared to the previous month, reaching 1,310 lira. The same family's expenditure for olives remained at 586 lira. 

According to the calculation based on 2,800 calories for an adult male, 2,200 for a woman, 3,000 for a youth, and 1,600 for a child, the hunger threshold in May was 5,818 lira for an adult male, 4,567 lira for an adult woman, 3,316 lira for a child, and 6,225 lira for a youth.

The hunger threshold recorded a total increase of 3 thousand 443 lira in the first five months of this year.

NON-FOOD EXPENDITURES

According to the research, which also takes into account price changes in non-food requirements to determine the poverty threshold, the amount of expenditure required for a family of four to meet their non-food needs "without feeling deprivation" rose to 39,426 lira in May.

In May, clothing and footwear expenditures for four people rose to 1,785 lira, housing (including rent) expenditures were 8,877 lira, household goods expenditures were 5,107 lira, and health expenditures were 1,645 lira. Transportation expenditures rose to 12,323 lira. Communication expenditures rose to 1,271 lira, entertainment and culture expenditures to 1,213 lira, education expenditures to 840 lira, holiday-hotel expenditures to 4,200 lira, and expenditures related to various goods and services rose to 2,166 lira.

Non-food expenditures also showed an increase of 9 thousand 72 lira in the first five months of this year.

WHAT IS THE POVERTY THRESHOLD?

The poverty threshold, which shows the total amount of food and non-food expenditures a family of four must make to live in a manner worthy of human dignity without feeling deprivation, rose by another 1,148 lira in May to 59,353 lira. The increase in the poverty threshold in the first five months of the year was 12 thousand 516 lira. The increase in the poverty threshold over the last year was 28 thousand 201 lira.