Household Consumption Expenditures, 2018 (Turkey)

According to the results of 2018 household budget survey; while the expenditures on housing and rent had the highest share in total consumption expenditures with a rate of 23.7%, the share of expenditures on food and non-alcoholic beverages was 20.3% in overall Turkey. The groups which had the lowest shares in total expenditures were health expenditures and educational services expenditures with the rates of 2.2% and 2.3% respectively.

The monthly average equivalised consumption expenditures was 2 181 TL

The monthly average equivalised consumption expenditures was 1 854 TL in 2017 and 2 181 TL in 2018.

The share of food and non-alcoholic beverages in total expenditures had the highest increase

According to the results of the survey, the share of food and non-alcoholic beverages expenditures increased from 19.7% to 20.3% with an increase of 0.6 points compared to the previous year. The share of various good and services expenditures increased to 4.9% from 4.4%. The share of communication expenditures was 3.8% in 2018 while 3.4% in 2017. The share of expenditures on restaurant and hotels increased to 6.5% from 6.2%. The share of furniture and houses appliances increased to 6.5% from 6.3% and also the share of entertainment and culture expenditures increased to 2.9% from 2.7%.

On the other hand, the share of housing and rent expenditures in total expenditures decreased from 24.7% to 23.7% with a decrease of 1 points compared to the previous year. The share of alcoholic beverages, cigarette and tobacco expenditures decreased from 4.5% to 4%. The share of expenditures on transportation was 18.3% in 2018 while 18.7% in 2017. The share of clothing and footwear expenditures decreased to 4.8% from 5%.

The share of expenditures on health which was 2.2% and the share of educational services expenditures which was 2.3% remained unchanged from 2017 to 2018.

Distribution of household consumption expenditures by expenditure types, 2017, 2018

Share of food expenditures of low-income households was twice more than that of high-income households

When looking at the distribution of consumption expenditures by quintiles ordered by income in 2018, it was observed that the share of housing and rent expenditures was 31.4%, food and non-alcoholic beverages expenditures was 28.7%, transportation expenditures was 9.3% and furniture and houses appliances expenditures was 5.9% for households in the first quintile (the lowest quintile).

The share of transportation expenditures was 21.6%, housing and rent expenditures was 20.3%, food and non-alcoholic beverages expenditures 15.4% and restaurant and hotels expenditures was 7.8% for households in the fifth quintile (the highest quintile).

Expenditure patterns changed according to households’ main source of income

While households whose main source of income was wages and salaries allocated 22.4% share for housing and rent, 19.2% for transportation and 18.7% for food and non-alcoholic beverages, households whose main source of income was entrepreneurial income allocated 22.7% share for transportation, 19.7% for housing and rent and 19.5% for food and non-alcoholic beverages.

Households whose main source of income was property income, interest and dividends allocated 28.1% share for housing and rent, 18.6% for transportation and 16.4% for food and non-alcoholic beverages. Households whose main source of income was pensions allocated 28.6% share for housing and rent, 25.5% for food and non-alcoholic beverages and 13.4% for transportation.