Cultural expenditure soars 88 percent last year

ANKARA

Cultural expenditures in Türkiye increased by 88.1 percent in 2022 compared to 2021 to reach 149.6 billion Turkish Liras. 

Cultural expenditures accounted for 1 percent of the country’s national income last year, the data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) showed. 

Private expenditures amounted to 60 billion liras, rising from 37.8 billion liras a year earlier. The government’s expenditures on culture sharply rose from 41.7 billion liras in 2020 to 89.7 billion liras in 2022. Some 70 percent of the government expenditures came from the central budget. 

“The highest payment in general government cultural expenditures was in the field of architecture with 17.5 percent,” TÜİK said. 

Some 18.6 percent of households’ expenditures went to TV sets and equipment, while the share of data processing equipment was 17.8 percent. “Other cultural expenditures” accounted for 23.5 percent of the total. 

Export of cultural goods leaped more than 105 percent last year compared with 2020 to stand at 178.6 billion liras, while imports climbed 111 percent to 79.8 billion liras. 

Cultural goods captured a 4.2 percent share in Türkiye’s total goods exports last year. 

Employment in the culture industry exhibited an annual increase of 6.2 percent to reach 682,000 people. 

Around 61 percent of those employed in the industry were aged between 30-54, while the age group between 15 and 29 constituted 29.2 percent of the employment. The share of those aged 55 and more was 9.9 percent, according to the data from TÜİK. 

More than 60 percent of those working in the industry were regular or casual employees, while 39.4 percent worked as employers, self-employed, or unpaid family workers, TÜİK said.