Garо Paylan, deputy chair for economic affairs of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) and member of parliament, spoke about Turkey’s economic indicators over the past three years since the transition to the presidential system. Ermenihaber reports.
The Armenian deputy recalled Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s words that after the transition to the presidential system the country’s economy would take off, then presented a series of indicators.
Accordingly:
– The Turkish lira has depreciated against the dollar, going from 4.55 to 8.70 lira per 1 dollar.
– Turkey’s economy has fallen from 18th to 20th place among the world’s largest economies.
– Gross national income has fallen from 860 billion dollars to 700 billion, with per capita income declining from 10,600 dollars to 8,500.
– The minimum wage of 2,825 lira (326 dollars) is lower than the minimum basket of 2,865 lira (330 dollars).
– The number of workers, which stood at 29 million 265 thousand in 2018, was 28 million 83 thousand in April 2021.
– In the three years of the presidential system, the number of unemployed has risen from 10.8% to 13.9 million, crossing the 10 million mark.
– According to Turkey’s statistical service’s June 2021 data, inflation for consumers was 17.5%, and for producers 42.8%. The overall inflation rate was above 30%.
– In three years, electricity has risen by 97% and gas by 93%.
Paylan linked all this to Erdogan’s “one-man regime,” recalling Erdogan’s famous remark on the economy: “I myself am responsible for the economy.”
