The Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) announced the 2023 Income Distribution Statistics bulletin. According to this, the share of the top 20 percent with the highest equivalent household disposable income increased by 1.8 percentage points to 49.8 percent compared to the previous year. In contrast, the share of the lowest income 20 percent decreased by 0.1 percentage points to 5.9 percent.
The share of the top 20 percent with the highest income in Turkey increased to 49.8 percent. In other words, the wealthiest 20 percent in the country took half of the total income.
Gini coefficient increased
The Gini coefficient, one of the measures of income distribution inequality, indicates equality in income distribution as it approaches zero and deterioration in income distribution as it approaches one.
In 2023, the Gini coefficient was estimated to be 0.433, an increase of 0.018 points compared to the previous year. The Gini coefficient excluding all social transfers was estimated to be 0.520, and when excluding all social transfer incomes including retirement and survivor benefits, it was estimated to be 0.445.
The annual average household disposable income increased by 70.7 percent to 167,983 Turkish liras last year compared to the previous year.
The annual average equivalent household disposable income increased by 72.3 percent from 48,642 Turkish liras to 83,808 Turkish liras compared to the previous year.
The highest amount of annual average equivalent household disposable income, increasing by 37,522 Turkish liras compared to 2022, was for single-person households, reaching 100,076 Turkish liras.
While the annual average equivalent household disposable income for households consisting of more than one person without a nuclear family was 99,916 Turkish liras, for households consisting of a single nuclear family, this value was 85,758 Turkish liras.
The household type with the lowest annual average equivalent disposable household income was households consisting of at least one nuclear family and other individuals, with 66,001 Turkish liras.
Wage and salary income received the highest share of total income at 48.5 percent
Wage and salary income received the highest share of total income at 48.5 percent, increasing by 2.3 percentage points compared to the previous year. Entrepreneurial income ranked second with 22.1 percent, increasing by 1.1 percentage points compared to the previous year, while social transfer income, which decreased by 2.6 percentage points compared to the previous year, constituted the third place with 17.6 percent.
The share of agricultural income in entrepreneurial income was 20.5 percent, while the share of retirement and survivor benefits in social transfers was 88.4 percent.
The highest annual average main job income is for university graduates
The annual average main job incomes were calculated as 157,851 Turkish liras for university graduates, 114,374 Turkish liras for high school graduates and equivalent, 89,012 Turkish liras for those with less than high school education, 63,425 Turkish liras for those who did not complete any education, and 45,637 Turkish liras for illiterate individuals.
The highest increase in annual average main job income was 89.7 percent for those with less than high school education, and the lowest increase was 79.6 percent for illiterate individuals.
When examined sectorally, the highest annual average income was 121,013 Turkish liras in the service sector, while the lowest annual average income was 92,632 Turkish liras in the agricultural sector. The highest increase in annual average main job income compared to the previous year was observed in the agricultural sector with 100.9 percent, followed by the industrial sector with 86.7 percent. The service sector saw an increase of 83.2 percent, while the construction sector saw an increase of 74.3 percent.
Annual average main job incomes were calculated as 408,174 Turkish liras for employers, 115,622 Turkish liras for self-employed individuals, 102,821 Turkish liras for wage earners, and 53,334 Turkish liras for daily wage workers. During this period, the highest increase was 108.1 percent for daily wage workers, while the lowest increase was 80.7 percent for wage earners.
