Relative poverty: Share of population below 50% of the median in Turkey
Turkey: Relative poverty: Share of population below 50% of the median was 16.3% in 2023. ▬ Flat
Latest (2023)
16.3%
Change on year
down 1.7%
World rank
25th
of 120 countries
All-time high
19.4%
in 2004
All-time low
15.6%
in 2015
Years of data
24
1987–2023
Relative poverty: Share of population below 50% of the median in Turkey, 1987–2023
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, relative poverty: share of population below 50% of the median in Turkey stood at 16.3%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.7% on the previous year and down 0.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, relative poverty: share of population below 50% of the median in Turkey peaked at 19.4% in 2004 and was at its lowest, 15.6%, in 2015.
Turkey ranks 25th of 120 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
Relative poverty: Share of population below 50% of the median in Turkey, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 15.7% | — |
| 1994 | 17.3% | +9.9% |
| 2002 | 17.1% | -1.1% |
| 2003 | 16.9% | -1.1% |
| 2004 | 19.4% | +14.5% |
| 2005 | 18.5% | -4.2% |
| 2006 | 17.8% | -4.2% |
| 2007 | 17.5% | -1.4% |
| 2008 | 17.6% | +0.5% |
| 2009 | 16.9% | -4.0% |
| 2010 | 16.4% | -2.6% |
| 2011 | 16.0% | -2.9% |
| 2012 | 16.0% | +0.3% |
| 2013 | 16.3% | +2.0% |
| 2014 | 15.7% | -3.9% |
| 2015 | 15.6% | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 16.0% | +2.2% |
| 2017 | 17.4% | +8.6% |
| 2018 | 17.4% | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 17.5% | +0.6% |
| 2020 | 17.3% | -1.1% |
| 2021 | 17.8% | +2.9% |
| 2022 | 16.6% | -6.9% |
| 2023 | 16.3% | -1.7% |
Turkey compared with similar countries
- Turkey's 16.3% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 13.4%, 1.2× the median. (35 countries reporting)
- Turkey's 16.3% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 10.9%, 1.5× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 15.7% | 15.7% | 15.7% | 1 |
| 1990s | 17.3% | 17.3% | 17.3% | 1 |
| 2000s | 17.7% | 16.9% | 19.4% | 8 |
| 2010s | 16.4% | 15.6% | 17.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 17.0% | 16.3% | 17.8% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Turkey
More poverty & inequality data for Turkey
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 8 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 1.62 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 3,429 kg per hectare (2024)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, annual growth rate -6.3 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 23.22 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 23.2% (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is relative poverty: share of population below 50% of the median in Turkey?
- Relative poverty: share of population below 50% of the median in Turkey was 16.3% in 2023, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest relative poverty: share of population below 50% of the median recorded in Turkey?
- The highest recorded value was 19.4% in 2004.
- What is the lowest relative poverty: share of population below 50% of the median recorded in Turkey?
- The lowest recorded value was 15.6% in 2015.
- How does Turkey rank for relative poverty: share of population below 50% of the median?
- Turkey ranks 25th out of 120 countries with data for 2023.
- Is relative poverty: share of population below 50% of the median rising or falling in Turkey?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Turkey data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Relative poverty: Share of population below 50% of the median. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Percentage of population living in households with an income or consumption below 50% of the median.