Till now, if you thought that only Pakistan is troubled by inflation, then you are wrong. Actually, the condition of another country in the world is worse than Pakistan, where people have to depend on credit cards to survive. We are talking about Türkiye. The people of Türkiye are troubled by inflation. In the month of last March, Türkiye’s annual inflation rate had increased to 68.5 percent. Inflation in the country has increased to such an extent that it is becoming difficult for people to even buy everyday items.
Life is going on credit card
The situation in Turkey is such that people have now become dependent on credit cards for everyday needs like food and shelter. Due to increase in inflation rate, people’s salaries have reduced. Now people have to think a hundred times even to buy common things. According to media reports, the minimum wage in Turkey is 17,000 lira (US$524) every month, while the poverty line is above 25,000 lira (US$768). The prices of food items are continuously increasing in the country. This has become the biggest reason for people’s problems. Turkey has the highest inflation among the countries associated with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (ICD).
Rent is also increasing
According to reports, due to inflation in Türkiye, house rents are also increasing. House prices have doubled compared to before. It is becoming difficult for people to live. Here the maximum increase has been seen in transport, food and housing sectors. In the year 2022, inflation in Turkey had reached the highest level of 86 percent in 24 years. During this period, the President had emphasized on the policy of keeping interest rates low. Most central banks increase interest rates to fight inflation, but at that time the interest rate in Turkey was 10.5 percent. In such a situation, people thought it better to take loans and use credit cards.
Even the debt is not decreasing
According to media reports, in the year 2023, credit card debt in Turkey had increased by 2.5 times to about one trillion lira i.e. more than 34 billion US dollars. This is a big record in itself. Due to the prolonged period of low interest rates, withdrawal of cash through other cards and taking personal loans to repay credit card debt continues to occur. Analysts and banking industry officials believe that restrictions can be imposed soon, because for some time the government has been indicating strictness.
