The Turkish Statistical Institute has just published its annual income survey. It shows that the richest 20% of the country spend, on average, 2,000 YTL per month – around £8,000 per year. The poorest, on the other hand, spend around a quarter of that at 500 YTL per month – around £2,000 per year. The average spend of the 17.5 million population was around 1,000 YTL per month - £4,000 per year.

So where do you fit into the list? Well, let’s do a simple comparison. The basic UK old age pension of £4,000 a year would see most living on the breadline in the UK, but in Turkey they would be in the average spender bracket. A couple with the UK basic state pension would receive around £7,000 nudging them towards the top 20%.

Good news then? Well, yes and no. Whilst your spending power is greater in Turkey the survey also found that the average spend has increased by 22% since 2004. Not all of this increase is due to inflation currently running at around 10%, but it does show how the fast developing economy is increasing consumer spending.