Living with inflation: a quick note on Turkey (2015–2024)

I recently discovered this community and genuinely enjoyed the quality of the posts here. For my first contribution, I wanted to share a concise, economist’s perspective on Turkey’s recent economic story—using a “less data, more meaning” approach. In Turkey, economic debates often get reduced to a single headline: the exchange rate, interest rates, or growth. But the real picture is about how these variables interact and how they shape purchasing power, expectations, and trust.

Source: ChatGPT

Starting with the big macro snapshot: Turkey’s GDP in USD terms was $868 billion in 2015, fell to $730 billion in 2020, and then rose to $1.358 trillion by 2024. GDP per capita follows a similar path: $10,621 in 2015, down to $8,397 in 2020, and up to $15,325 in 2024. These numbers suggest a post-pandemic nominal recovery. However, the lived experience of “prosperity” doesn’t always improve at the same pace—because the central character of Turkey’s economic narrative has been inflation.

CPI inflation (12-month averages) rose from 7.67% in 2015 to 72.31% in 2022, then remained elevated at 53.86% in 2023 and 58.51% in 2024. Year-end inflation for 2024 stands at 44.38%. In other words, high inflation is no longer a temporary shock; it becomes a regime that shapes everyday behavior. In such a regime, households make decisions with a “tomorrow will be more expensive” mindset, firms prioritize short-term protection over long-term planning, and pricing behavior becomes distorted. Most importantly, when trust and expectations are fragile, even well-designed policies tend to deliver results more slowly—and with more social resistance.

On the labor market side, the signal looks more positive: unemployment declined from 13.7% in 2019 to 8.7% in 2024. That improvement matters. Yet in Turkey, public sentiment is not driven by the unemployment rate alone. It is also shaped by whether wages can keep up with inflation, the quality and stability of jobs, and whether income is sufficient to maintain a decent standard of living. This is why the labor data can improve while the sense of economic comfort remains limited—especially when inflation stays high.

Overall, the 2015–2024 figures show Turkey’s capacity to rebound, while also making the core challenge very clear: reducing inflation in a lasting way and rebuilding trust at the same time. Because an economy is not only a set of numbers—it is the sum of collective expectations about the future. When trust strengthens, savings flow into healthier channels, investment appetite rises, and stability becomes more durable and easier to sustain.

[**Source of Data:**](https://www.tuik.gov.tr/Home/Index)