Turkish lira millionaires reach new record amid high inflation
A close-up view of 100 Turkish lira banknotes rolling off. (Adobe Stock Photo)
The number of Turkish residents and foreign nationals holding at least ₺1 million surpassed 2 million for the first time in 2024, according to data from the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK).
In the past five years, Türkiye has seen an extraordinary increase in the number of Turkish millionaires, despite facing challenges such as high inflation, income erosion, and growing inequality. At the end of 2020, 308,278 people had at least ₺1 million ($27,500) in their bank accounts. However, this number surged by a staggering 493% in half a decade to reach 1.83 million in 2024.
By the end of 2023, the number of individuals in Türkiye with ₺1 million or more in their accounts reached 1.3 million. This figure further increased by 529,816 by the end of 2024, bringing the total to 1.83 million. This represents a remarkable 493% increase in just five years.
The number of millionaires living in Türkiye grew by 40% from December 2023 to December 2024. On the other hand, inflation continues to pose a hardship on citizens’ purchasing power.
Credit card usage grows
This economic disparity is reflected in the rising usage of credit and debit cards. Data from the Interbank Card Center (BKM) shows that total card payments in January 2024 amounted to ₺1.61 trillion ($4.4 billion), a 66% increase compared to the previous year. A majority of these payments, ₺1.37 trillion, were made using credit cards.
The use of debit cards and prepaid cards accounted for ₺207.8 billion and ₺32.4 billion, respectively. The number of credit cards in circulation in Türkiye reached 130.2 million, while the number of debit cards totaled 195.6 million, and prepaid cards hit 113.1 million by the end of January. Compared to the previous year, credit card numbers increased by 9%, debit cards by 3%, and prepaid cards by a substantial 24%.
