Erdoğan says 'The economy is standing tall': Data says the exact opposite

AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan emphasized the resilience of the Turkish economy against global and regional crises in his latest post on the social media platform X. However, the announced official statistics and international data reveal that the rosy picture painted does not align with the realities on the ground.

ERDOĞAN: "WE ARE SUCCESSFULLY MANAGING MULTIPLE SHOCKS"

AKP Chairman and President Erdoğan, in his statement on his X account, drew attention to regional tensions and used the following expressions regarding the economic trend:

"Despite the conflicts in our region, the Turkish economy is standing tall. As Turkey, thank God, we are successfully managing multiple shocks in a global conjuncture where a new crisis emerges every day."

Despite Erdoğan's emphasis on "successfully managed shocks," both Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) data and global inflation reports reveal the severity of the situation in the economy.

DATA REFUTES STATEMENTS: A GRIM PICTURE IN UNEMPLOYMENT AND INFLATION

Despite the optimistic messages from economic policymakers and President Erdoğan, the price increases in employment and basic consumer goods confirm the economic bottleneck experienced by citizens. According to current data, the latest situation in the economy is as follows:

According to TÜİK's June data, the rate of idle labor (broadly defined unemployment), which consists of the potential labor force and the unemployed, reached 28.8 percent.

The unemployment rate in the youth population, covering the 15-24 age group, was 12.8 percent.

Turkey ranks third in the world in food inflation, following Venezuela, which is struggling with hyperinflation, and Iran, which is under heavy US sanctions.

THE GAP WITH EUROPE HAS WIDENED IN ENERGY AND FUEL

Turkey's negative divergence in economic indicators is seen much more clearly in comparisons made with European Union (EU) countries:

While energy prices in EU countries have increased by only 6.7 percent in the last three years, this rate was recorded as 277 percent in Turkey.

In the same three-year period, while the highest increase in diesel prices in the EU region was seen in Romania at 40 percent, diesel prices in Turkey increased by 200 percent.

Experts and economists emphasize that this picture, which emerged with the combination of the contraction in employment and exorbitant energy costs, renders the "success" and "resilience" rhetoric in official statements void.

News Source: 12punto