Turkey's poverty level unchanged in 2013, study reveals

The number of Turkish residents living on less than $2.15 a day remained unchanged in 2013, according to official figures released on Tuesday.

According to a study by the Turkish Statistics Institute, the number of residents living below the povety line was 0.06 percent, unchanged from the previous year, the Turkish Statistics Institute reported.

The study indicates that the number of citizens living on less than $4.30 a day fell to 2.06 percent from 2.27 in 2012 last year.

Individuals who live in rural areas run a greater risk of falling below the poverty line than those who live in urban areas, the report said.

The number of citizens living below the poverty line in urban areas in 2013 was 0.02 percent, unchanged in 2013.

The percentage of poor in rural areas in 2012 was 0.14 percent and 0.13 percent in 2013.

Turkey is in third place in terms of poverty level, just after Mexico, out of the 34 countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development's Income Inequality and Poverty report issued in June.

The minimum wage in Turkey is 891 Turkish liras ($402) per month, while the country's unemployment rate was 10.1 percent in August.

"A typical family of four (two working adults, two children) needs to spend 1328 Turkish liras ($600) per month, as of August 2014, for a healthy diet, This is an increase from 1221 Turkish liras ($550) in January of the year," the union's report said.

In September of this year, the Education Personnel Union Research Team said that those living below the poverty line in the country increased by 9 percent in last eight months of the year.