Child Poverty Rapidly Rises in Turkiye

(Kira Evans, Mother and Child, Flicker )

About one-third of Türkiye’s 22 million children live below the poverty line, with nearly two million in “deep poverty,” facing hunger, homelessness, and being trapped in a cycle of deprivation.

Türkiye is struggling with one of the highest rates of child poverty among developing countries. According to a 2024 study by the Economic Policy Research Foundation of Türkiye (TEPAV), 31.3% of children under 18 in the country are living in poverty, with over 2 million in absolute poverty which is measured by the lack of fundamental needs that threaten their lives.

The Turkish economic setback happening in recent years contributed to a negative change which caused an increase in the number of children living in poverty: The Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) provides governmental data by stating that in 2024, 4 out of 10 children have a high risk of social isolation caused by impoverishment. Independent research, such as that of the Turkish Economic Policy Research Institute (TEPAV), suggests that the data given by the government often underreports the scale of deprivation, and according to their study, more than 9 million children in the 0-17 age group live in poverty, which amounts to an intimidating rate of 31.3 percent. In addition, while the infant poverty rate was 36.8 percent in 2019, this rate increased to 41.4 percent in 2024.

The roots of the child poverty problem in Türkiye lie in rapid inflation, which has outpaced wage increases, according to TEPAV. The 33% inflation rate projected in the 2024-26 MTP for the end of 2024 was increased to 41.5% a year later, making essential goods unreasonably expensive for millions of families earning minimum wage. In many households, children are forced into labor, missing out on education and the chance to break the poverty cycle. TÜİK reports that in Türkiye, within the last decade, the year with the highest child labor rate was 2024, with 22.3%.

Children growing up without access to nutritious food or proper healthcare often suffer developmental setbacks. As they age, these disadvantages translate into limited educational achievement, low human capital accumulation, and restricted economic productivity. This is the “poverty cycle,” where children born into poverty often remain there as adults. The prevalence of child poverty in a country may be an indication that this vicious cycle has not been broken, and it may also signify that productivity problems may be experienced in the long term. “The vicious cycle of poverty can be simply defined as poverty begetting poverty or the intergenerational transmission of poverty unless there is external intervention,” TEPAV reports.

Another reason shown behind the accelerating rise of child poverty in the country is shown as critical regional development disparities. The higher fertility rates in regions with lower socioeconomic development levels compared to other regions lead to a steady increase in the number of children living in poverty.

As President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan declared 2025 as the "Family Year" the government is taking a stance against the country's declining birth rate. But despite the opposition party’s effort to revert poverty's effects on the new generation, the ruling party recently rejected a policy proposal in parliament to offer one free meal in schools, sparking controversy in social media while The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) research conducted in 2024 reported that 1 in 5 students in Türkiye goes to school hungry.

Ultimately, the urgency of the situation calls for immediate action by the government. When left unaddressed, child poverty will continue to threaten to undermine the country’s broader social and economic development, harming the future of millions of Turkish children.