Turkish citizens lag in purchasing power

ANKARA - Anatolia News Agency

A recent study released by the OECD and EUROSTAT unveils that purchasing power in Turkey is way below the level in European Union-member countries. DAILY NEWS photo, Hasan ALTINIŞIK

Only one day after the release of Turkey’s positive third quarter growth data for 2011, Turkey ranked 30 out of 37 European countries in terms of its Purchasing Power Index (PPI) in a three-year study from 2008 to 2010 released yesterday.

The study was undertaken by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Statistical Office of the European Union (EUROSTAT).

Turkey’s PPI was calculated at 49, roughly 5.5 times lower than Luxembourg’s 271 at the top of the list, according to the study. The average PPI for the 27 EU member states was 100.

The only European Union or member candidate countries lower than Turkey on the PPI scale were Montenegro, Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia and Albania, which ranked lowest at 27 points.