Hunger and Poverty Thresholds Climb Sharply as Living Costs Deepen in Turkey

Rising living costs continue to place intense pressure on households across Turkey, with new data highlighting the growing gap between incomes and basic needs. The latest Hunger and Poverty Threshold Report for October 2025, published by the Class Research Center of the United Metalworkers’ Union (BİSAM), offers a detailed snapshot of the country’s cost-of-living realities. Based on expenditure groups defined by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK), the report underscores how difficult it has become for families and individuals to maintain even a modest standard of living.

According to the findings, the monthly cost required for a four-person household to meet only basic nutritional needs reached 26,925 TL as of October 2025. This figure, known as the hunger threshold, represents the minimum amount a family needs to consume a healthy, balanced diet. However, when essential non-food expenses such as housing, transportation, education, and healthcare are added, the picture becomes far more severe.

Poverty Line Nears Six Figures for Families

BİSAM’s calculations show that the poverty threshold for a family of four climbed to 93,135 TL per month. This figure reflects the total spending required to meet all compulsory needs, not discretionary consumption. In other words, it represents the baseline cost of maintaining a socially acceptable standard of living without falling into deprivation.

The widening distance between average household incomes and the poverty line illustrates the depth of the affordability crisis. For many families, covering basic food expenses alone consumes a substantial share of monthly earnings, leaving little room to manage rent, utilities, transportation, or education costs.

Individual Food Costs Reveal Unequal Burdens

Beyond household totals, the report also breaks down minimum monthly food expenditures by age and gender, offering insight into how nutritional costs vary among individuals. These calculations are based on the dietary requirements needed to maintain health, not luxury or excess consumption.

For an adult male, the minimum monthly food cost was calculated at 7,528 TL, while an adult female requires 7,147 TL to meet similar nutritional standards. Teenagers aged 15 to 18 face nearly the same burden as adults, with a monthly minimum food cost of 7,518 TL. Even young children are not exempt from rising costs, as the minimum monthly food expense for a child aged 4 to 6 was estimated at 4,733 TL.

These figures highlight that food inflation affects all age groups and that raising children carries a growing financial burden, even before other essential expenses are taken into account.

Living Alone Is No Longer Cheaper

The report also sheds light on the cost of living for individuals who live alone, a group often assumed to face lower expenses than families. According to BİSAM, a single person now needs at least 43,292 TL per month to cover food, housing, transportation, healthcare, education, and other essential costs.

This “subsistence threshold” for individuals demonstrates that living alone does not shield people from the broader cost-of-living crisis. Rent, utilities, and transportation expenses remain high regardless of household size, pushing the minimum income needed for a basic life well beyond the reach of many workers.

Fruit and Vegetables Lead Daily Food Expenses

A closer look at daily food costs reveals which categories place the most significant strain on household budgets. For November 2025, the report identifies fruit and vegetables as the most expensive daily food group, with an average daily cost of 263 TL. This is followed closely by milk and dairy products, which require 236 TL per day to meet nutritional needs.

Protein sources also remain costly. Daily spending on meat, chicken, and fish was calculated at 175 TL, while bread alone accounts for 80 TL per day. Additional essential items further add to daily expenses, including 49 TL for solid and liquid oils, 17 TL for eggs, and 23 TL for sugar, honey, jam, and molasses.

These figures illustrate how maintaining a balanced diet has become increasingly expensive, particularly for households attempting to meet recommended nutritional standards rather than cutting corners on food quality.

A Clear Signal of Deepening Cost-of-Living Pressure

Taken together, the data presented in the October 2025 Hunger and Poverty Threshold Report paints a stark picture of economic strain. The hunger threshold exceeding 26,000 TL and the poverty line approaching 100,000 TL for a family of four indicate that basic living costs have risen far faster than incomes for large segments of society.

The detailed breakdown of individual and daily food costs further reinforces how inflation is embedded in everyday life, affecting routine grocery shopping as much as major household expenses like rent and transportation. For both families and single individuals, the minimum income required to avoid hardship continues to rise.