The share of the top 20% richest group in Turkey in terms of total income has risen to 48.7%. The Gini coefficient measuring income inequality has depicted the most unfavorable situation since 2006. The lowest income was identified in the regions of Van, Muş, Bitlis, and Hakkari. The places with the highest income inequality were Ağrı, Kars, Iğdır, and Ardahan.

The Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) has revised and re-published the Income Distribution Statistics bulletin for the year 2023.

TurkStat explained that due to the incomplete calculation of the imputed rent, a slight deviation occurred in some indicators.

Accordingly, the share of the top 20% income group in total income increased by 0.7 percentage points compared to the previous year, reaching 48.7%. The share of the lowest 20% in income increased by 0.1 percentage points to 6.1%. INCOME INEQUALITY The Gini coefficient, which measures income distribution inequality, was estimated at 0.420, representing a 0.005 point increase from the previous year. When all social transfers excluding considered, the Gini coefficient was calculated as 0.488, and when all social transfer incomes including retirement and widow(er) pensions were excluded, it was estimated as 0.431. The Gini coefficient signifies approaching zero as income equality and approaching one as income distribution deterioration.

The ratio of the share of the top 20% within the society with the highest income to the share of the lowest 20% measured by the P80/P20 ratio remained at 7.9. The ratio of the top 10% of income earners to the lowest 10% of income earners, as calculated by the P90/P10 ratio, decreased from 14.2 to 13.8. ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME In Turkey, the average annual household income increased by 84.1% to 181,200 Turkish Lira. The average annual per capita household income increased by 85.3% from 48,642 TL to 90,116 TL compared to the previous year.

MAJOR SHARE IN SALARIES AND WAGES Total income saw the highest share with a 2.3 point increase to 48.5% in salaries and wages. Entrepreneurial income followed with 22.1%, up by 1.1 points from the previous year, and social transfer income made up the third share with 17.6%, showing a decrease of 2.6 points from the previous year. Agricultural income accounted for 20.5% of entrepreneurial income, while retiree and widow(er) pensions represented 88.4% of social transfers.

INCOME INCREASE AMONG THOSE WITH EDUCATION BELOW HIGH SCHOOL

The annual average gross earnings were determined at 157,851 lira for tertiary graduates, 114,374 lira for high school graduates, 89,012 lira for those with education below high school, 63,425 lira for those without finishing any school, and 45,637 lira for illiterate individuals. The highest increase in annual gross earnings, 89.7%, was observed among those with education below high school, while the lowest increase, 79.6%, was recorded among illiterate individuals.

LOWEST INCOME REGION

The average annual per capita household income in Turkey was estimated at 90,116 TL. Istanbul was noted as the region with the highest income at 124,723 TL. Van, Muş, Bitlis, and Hakkari were the regions with the lowest income at 41,385 TL.

HIGHEST INCOME INEQUALITY REGION According to the latest research findings, the P80/P20 ratio, obtained by dividing the share of the top 20% of society with the highest income by the share of the lowest 20%, was 7.9. Kocaeli, Sakarya, Düzce, Bolu, Yalova were identified as the regions with the lowest ratio of 4.9. The region with the highest ratio of 8.1 was Ağrı, Kars, Iğdır, and Ardahan. Ankara was noted as the second region with the highest income inequality at 7.8.