Turkey's 9-Month Interest Bill Climbs to TL 2.2 Trillion

Turkey allocated TL 2.188 trillion to interest payments in the first nine months of 2025, according to cash-balance data released by the Treasury and Finance Ministry. The figure represents a 40 percent increase on the same period last year.

Data compiled by Sözcü show that in September alone the budget's interest burden reached TL 273.9 billion, making it the third-highest monthly interest payment of the year. January and July carried heavier loads and occupy the top two spots.

In September, Treasury cash revenues totalled TL 1.331 trillion while cash expenditures reached TL 1.798 trillion. The budget posted a deficit of TL 467.2 billion for the month — a record for a single-month shortfall.

Over the January–September period, total cash revenues reached TL 12.340 trillion against expenditures of TL 14.216 trillion. Although the non-interest balance showed a surplus of TL 312 billion, interest payments wiped it out entirely and drove the cumulative cash deficit to TL 1.871 trillion.

To put the TL 2.188 trillion interest figure in perspective: it is equivalent to more than eight years of net savings for a worker on the minimum wage reported by TÜİK for July 2025 — the full amount absorbed by government debt service. The Treasury and Finance Ministry issued no additional statement regarding the months ahead.