Surprise move by TurkStat in per capita income calculation: Syrians will also be included

It has emerged that the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) is preparing to make a fundamental change in its national income calculations. According to Ekonomim columnist Alaattin Aktaş, Syrians living under temporary protection will now be included in the population when calculating per capita national income.

REVISION WILL COVER ALL YEARS

It was stated that the new regulation will be applied retroactively, and therefore, per capita income data for past years will also be revised. Aktaş said, "Including the 2.9 million Syrians in 2024 will pull the per capita income, which is 15,463 dollars, down by approximately 500 dollars." However, he added that increasing the GDP through other revisions might limit this decline.

ANNOUNCED WITH SECOND QUARTER DATA

TurkStat announced its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data for the second quarter of the year. It was noted that with the announcement, not only the growth rate but also the retroactive revisions would be reflected to the public.

SYRIANS NOW IN THE CALCULATION

Until now, TurkStat's exclusion of Syrian refugees from per capita income calculations had been criticized. It was stated that with the new regulation, this deficiency is being addressed and Syrians under temporary protection in Turkey will be included in the calculations.

MILLION-LEVEL INCREASE EFFECT ON POPULATION

According to data from the Presidency of Migration Management, as of August 21, the number of Syrians under temporary protection is approximately 2.5 million. Last year, this number was 2.9 million. In the second quarter of the year, it is expected that 2.6–2.7 million Syrians will be included in the population. This situation will increase Turkey's population by millions at once, while also pulling down the per capita income.