Minister Şimşek listed 10 countries to those who say "The minimum wage is low": We are better than them.

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As of 2025, the minimum wage has been set at 22,104 TL. Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Şimşek made evaluations regarding the minimum wage on his social media account.

WE STOOD BY OUR EMPLOYEES

Minister Şimşek's statements are as follows: Price stability is a prerequisite for the permanent increase in the purchasing power and welfare of our employees. The ultimate goal of the program we implemented is sustainable high growth and a fairer income distribution. During our governments, we have always stood by our employees.

MINIMUM WAGE IS INCREASING ABOVE INFLATION

Between 2005 and 2024, we increased employment by 13.7 million people, which means we provided an average of over 680,000 additional jobs annually. Since we started implementing our program in June 2023, employment growth has reached 1.4 million. The minimum wage is increasing above inflation. In 2023, inflation was 64.8%, while the minimum wage increase was 107.3%. The expected inflation rate for 2024 is around 45%, while the minimum wage increased by 49.1%.

IT WAS 112 DOLLARS IN 2002

Between 2003 and 2024, the annual average growth rate was 5.3%, while the real increase in the minimum wage was 5.6%. The share of labor payments in gross value added reached its highest value of 37.6% in the third quarter of 2024, since the series was announced in 1998. The increase in the last year was 6.1 points. The minimum wage, which was 112 dollars in 2002, is equivalent to 196 dollars today according to US inflation. For 2025, the minimum wage is over 620 dollars at the current exchange rate. The dollar equivalent of the minimum wage has increased to 5.6 times the level of 2002, and when adjusted for US inflation, it has risen to 3.2 times.

COUNTED THE COUNTRIES

Our current minimum wage level is higher than those of developing countries such as Romania, Bulgaria, Mexico, China, Brazil, South Africa, Indonesia, Russia, Egypt, and India.