What was missing from the table went to rent
TÜİK consumption data showed that people were cutting back even on basic necessities. The share of food in household spending decreased, while the share of housing and rent spending increased. The share of food and non-alcoholic beverages decreased by 2.5 points. In contrast, the share of housing and rent spending increased by 2.1 points. In the poorest households, food spending decreased by 6.2 points compared to 2023.
Deepening poverty and income inequality have also reflected in consumption patterns.
TÜİK's 2024 household consumption expenditure statistics revealed that expenditures are squeezed between food, housing, and transportation.
Across the country, housing and rent expenditures accounted for the highest share of consumer spending at 26%. Transportation followed at 21.6%, and food and non-alcoholic beverage expenditures came in third at 18.1%.
CUTTING BACK ON FOOD TO SPEND ON HOUSING
The share of housing and rent expenses in consumption expenditures increased compared to the previous year, while the share of food and non-alcoholic beverages decreased. Compared to 2023, the share of food and non-alcoholic beverages decreased by 2.5 points. The share of housing and rent increased by 2.1 points. In 2024, when the average monthly minimum wage was 17,000 lira, monthly consumption expenditure per household was estimated at 45,344 TL. The data revealed the impact of high inflation on spending. Consumption expenditure, which averaged 24,383 lira in 2023, increased by 86% in one year.
THE RICH HAVE TRANSPORTATION, THE POOR HAVE FOOD
When examining consumption expenditures by income group, the extent of income inequality becomes evident. The average monthly consumption expenditure for the poorest segment was 17,387 lira, while the wealthiest segment spent 87,127 lira. The wealthiest segment spent five times more than the poorest segment. Transportation accounted for the largest share of the wealthy segment's expenditures at 26.6%. In the poorest segment, food expenditures ranked first at 30.4%. However, the share of food expenditures in the consumption expenditures of low-income households decreased by 6.2 points compared to 2023. The wealthy segment's food expenditures accounted for 12.8%.
Food, housing and rent expenses accounted for 63.6% of the total expenditure of the poorest households. The top 20% income group allocated 34.9% of their expenditure to these two items. The poorest segment spent an average of 5,749 TL on housing and rent and 5,285 TL on food alone. When looking at the distribution of spending by income group, it was seen that consumption spending was done by the wealthy. In 2024, the wealthiest segment spent 38.4% of every 100 TL, while the poorest income group's share remained at 7.6%.
EDUCATION EXPENDITURE IS MINORITY
The gap in spending was even more pronounced in education, entertainment and culture, restaurants and hotels, and clothing and footwear. While households in the lowest income group accounted for only 2.3% of 100 lira spent on education, the minority in the highest income group accounted for 64.5%. While the poor accounted for 3.1% of 100 lira spent on entertainment, sports, and culture, the wealthy accounted for 48.6%.
As of 2024, the number of households with a primary income of pension payments was estimated at 4 million 642 thousand. Food, transportation, and housing/rent accounted for 73.3% of these households' expenditures. Monthly spending in households whose primary income source is pension income increased by 76.2% compared to 2023, reaching 31,302 lira. In these households, an average of 22,944 TL per month was spent on these three categories. In households living on pension income, 25% of every 100 lira spent went towards food, 35.7% towards housing, and 12.6% towards transportation.
The number of households surviving on social assistance was recorded as 3 million 222 thousand. In these households, which spend an average of 22,295 TL per month and whose main income comes from unconditional transfers, 40% of spending went towards housing and rent, while 23.2% was allocated to food expenses.
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FOOD INFLATION EXCEEDED 30% YEAR-ON-YEAR
The Turkish Economic Policies Research Foundation (TEPAV) also released its food price index (TEGE) data for May 2025 yesterday. According to the data, food prices in Turkey rose by 1.21% in May compared to the previous month, with annual food inflation exceeding 30.6%. The highest price increases were seen in lemons, kiwis and oranges, while there were decreases in hot peppers, bell peppers and cucumbers.
According to TEPAV data, when evaluated together with other measurements related to food prices during the same period, the kitchen inflation calculated by Türk-İş was 4.40%, the İstanbul Consumer Price Index (İTÜFE) published by the İstanbul Chamber of Commerce (İTO) was 3.24%, and the wage earners' living index (ÜGE) was 0.09%. On an annual basis, these rates stood at 32.3% (Turk-İş), 40.5% (İTÜFE), and 35.8% (ÜGE), respectively.
Note: This text has been translated from the original Turkish version titled Sofradan eksilen kiraya gitti, published in BirGün newspaper on June 3, 2025.
