Thirteen million live below the poverty line

2011-01-06 16:23:13

ANKARA (DIHA) - Thirteen million people live below the poverty line in
Turkey according to data reported by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK).

The monthly starvation line for a family of four in Turkey is 287
Turkish Lira (TL) or US$185, while the poverty line is 825 TL or
US$550. Though the standards are very low compared to other countries
in Europe, there are actually 12,751,000 people living below the
poverty living in Turkey.

The poverty rate in the countryside decreased slightly over the past
year and the poverty rate in urban areas remains slightly lower than
that in rural ones. The national poverty rate was 34.62% in 2008 and
rose to 38.69% in 2009, the most recent statistic.

The poverty line takes into account the cost of living for food and
other basic necessities.

(gü/bk)