Turkey Increases Minimum Wage by 27%, Approaching $650

Turkey raises the minimum wage by 27%. In recent weeks, the government and the country’s employers’ associations have agreed on this wage increase for 2026, bringing the minimum wage to 28,075 liras per month, equivalent to $653 at the current exchange rate.

The increase, which came into effect on January 1st, has a high impact on the country, since it is estimated that around half of Turkey’s workers earn the minimum wage. However, the devaluation of the Turkish lira and the high inflation in the country mitigate the impact of the increase, leading to a loss of purchasing power for workers.

“In a situation where we want to reduce inflation to below 20%, I congratulate workers and employers on raising the net monthly minimum wage to 28,075 lira, a 27% increase,“ said Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz.

At the end of 2024, the minimum wage for 2025 was set at 22,104 liras, then equivalent to about $515. However, the loss of value of the lira against the euro and dollars means that the exchange rate now stands at 438 euros.

The unions were demanding a 60% increase, and have therefore refused to take part in the negotiations with employers and the government.

Annual inflation has reached 31% in 2025 in Turkey, according to official data. However, some independent organizations believe that the real figure is considerably higher. Hence, the unions demanded increases of at least 60% to balance the loss of purchasing power of wages and, considering that their positions were not being taken into account, refused to take part in the latest meetings with the employers and the government.

The head of the opposition, the social democrat Özgür Özel, recalled that the minimum food expenditure for a family of four is around 30,000 liras ($700) per month, while the poverty threshold is calculated at a monthly income of around 90,000 liras ($2,000).