The Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK - TurkStat) announced an increase of 4.84% in the consumer inflation rate for January 2026 compared with the previous month resulting in a decrease in the annual-to-date rate to 30.65% from 30.89% in the previous month of December 2025, below the 42.12% rate in January 2025.
The highest monthly increase was in health with 14.85%, followed by insurance & financial services with 10.82%, education with 6.61%, food and non-alcoholic beverages with 6.59%, restaurants and accommodation with 5.86%, miscellaneous goods and services with 5.39%, entertainment and culture with 5.36%, transportation with 5.29%, housing with 4.43%, information & communications with 4.03%, furniture & household goods with 3.19%, and alcoholic beverages and tobacco with 1.53%. There was a decrease recorded in clothing and footwear with 4.66%.
The highest annual increase was recorded in education with 64.70%, followed by housing with 45.36%, restaurants and hotels with 33.31%, food and non-alcoholic beverages with 31.69%, alcoholic beverages and tobacco with 31.45%, miscellaneous goods and services with 29.71%, transportation with 29.39%, entertainment and culture with 26.88%, furniture & household goods with 23.13%, insurance & financial services with 23.08%, health with 21.63%, information & communications with 20.09%, and clothing and footwear with 7.07%.
There is much speculation as to the accurateness of the inflation figures produced by TurkStat as ordinary citizens understandably feel that they have experienced a much higher rise in the cost of living over the last year. In its 2025-IV Inflation Report of November 7th, 2025, the Turkish Central Bank kept its inflation projection for 2025, 2026 and 2027 unchanged at 24%, 16% and 9% respectively. The medium-term inflation target remains at 5%. The unofficial annual inflation rate for January 2026 as prepared by ENAG Inflation Research Group is 53.42%.
High interest rates and the Treasury’s tighter monetary policy, despite official statistics showing healthy growth rates to the contrary, are taking their toll on economic activity and causing a serious fall in living standards in Turkey. There is therefore strong political pressure for a reduction in interest rates before each of the Central Bank’s monetary policy meetings.
The January 2026 inflation rate of 30.65% is now 6.35 percentage points below the Central Bank’s current policy interest rate of 37%. Contrary to expectations for a continued gradual decrease in the inflation rate each month, the inflation rate has overall not moved down significantly over the last seven months. The Central Bank has therefore not been able to reduce its interest rate as much as was originally hoped.