Turkey in gold
Five numbers that show what a weak lira has done to prices, savings, and property, measured in US dollars and in gold.
In short
Change against one year earlier
Central bank gold
795tonnes
vs September 2025 −0.5 %Shopping basket
+29.7
% prices, 12 months
the same basket, change in a yearIn US dollars +10.2 %In gold −6.1 %Savings outside the lira
41
% of household bank savings
foreign currency and precious metalsvs a year ago +4.6 pointsIn precious metals, per household$3,052Home price per m²
7.82g of gold
change in a yearIn lira +27.7 %In US dollars +6.0 %In gold −29.4 %Cost of a gram of gold
6,680lira
change in a yearGold, in lira +24.2 %US dollar, in lira +18.3 %
The central bank's gold
Turkey's central bank has almost doubled its gold: from about 440 tonnes ten years ago to about 800 tonnes today.
September 2026
- Tonnes of gold795 t
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What you see
How many tonnes of gold sit in the central bank's reserves, month by month. Gold is also a large part of those reserves: 64 percent of everything the bank holds as reserve assets.
What it means
A central bank can print its own currency, but it cannot print gold. The more gold it holds, the larger the part of the country's reserves that is safe from swings in currencies.
795 tonnes in September 2026, against 442 tonnes in September 2016. Gold is 64 percent of the official reserve assets in September 2026.
How this is measuredWhat a shopping basket costs
A shopping basket that cost 100 lira in January 2010 costs 2,509 lira today. In US dollars the same basket got cheaper (76), and in gold it got about 5 times cheaper (19).
The same basket of everyday goods, priced in three units. Each line starts at 100 at the left edge.
September 2026
- Lira2,509
- US dollars76
- Gold19
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What you see
The same basket of everyday goods (the official consumer price index), priced three ways: in lira, in US dollars, and in gold. Each line starts at 100 on the left of the chart, so you see how the price changed, not the price itself.
What it means
When the lira line climbs but the dollar and gold lines do not, the goods did not get dearer for someone who saves in dollars or gold. The lira lost the value, not the goods.
September 2026, January 2010 = 100: 2,509 in lira, 76 in US dollars, 19 in gold. Over the last 12 months: +29.7 % in lira, +10.2 % in dollars, −6.1 % in gold.
How this is measuredSavings kept outside the lira
41 percent of what households keep in Turkish banks is not in lira. That is less than at the peak in 1994 (68 percent), but today 23 percent of all savings sits in gold and other precious metals, which was below 2 percent until 2017.
Which part of households' bank savings is not in lira. Monthly since 1986.
August 2026
- Foreign currency and precious metals40.8 %
- of which precious metals23.5 %
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What you see
The share of households' bank savings that is held in foreign currency (blue) and, of that, in precious-metal accounts (orange). Savings in lira are the rest. “Total” and “Per household” show the same savings in US dollars, since June 2024.
What it means
People move money out of the lira to protect it when they expect the lira to lose value. A rising line means less trust in the lira. What is new is the orange line: savings kept in gold and other precious metals have become a large part of the picture.
What is counted?
- Only money in bank accounts: households' deposits at banks in Turkey. Cash at home, gold jewellery and gold coins are not counted.
- Foreign currency is mostly US dollars and euros. Precious metals are gold and other metals such as silver.
- The share chart uses the central bank's monthly bank statistics for residents (since 1986). The dollar views use its weekly households table, which only starts in June 2024. The two differ by about two percentage points.
- Per household is an average over about 27 million households (TurkStat, 2025). Most households hold much less, a few much more.
August 2026: 41 percent of residents' bank savings in foreign currency and precious metals, 23 percent in precious-metal accounts. The week ending 9 October 2026: 142.4 billion US dollars in foreign currency and precious metals, 82.3 billion of it in precious-metal accounts, about 5,300 US dollars per household.
How this is measuredHouse prices
A home in Turkey costs 51 times more lira than in 2010, but only 1.7 times more dollars, and less than half the gold.
The same square metre of housing, priced in three units. Each line starts at 100 at the left edge.
Q2 2026
- Lira5,148
- US dollars171
- Gold42
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From Q2 2021 to Q2 2026, 43 of 69 provinces with a figure got more expensive in gold and 26 cheaper.
Gold shows a rise, graphite a fall, and the hatched provinces have no figure for this period.
Explore the map of house prices by provinceWhat you see
The price of a typical square metre of housing (the median from bank appraisal reports), shown in lira, in US dollars, and in gold. Each line starts at 100 on the left of the chart.
What it means
In lira, houses look like a boom, but much of that is the lira losing value. In gold, homes have become cheaper, because gold rose faster than house prices. The unit you choose decides whether you feel richer or poorer.
The second quarter of 2026: 51,850 lira, 1,139 US dollars, 7.82 grams of gold per square metre. Over the last year: +27.7 % in lira, +6.0 % in dollars, −29.4 % in gold.
See the province mapThe lira against the dollar and gold
Since 2010 a US dollar has become 34 times dearer in lira, and a gram of gold 125 times dearer.
What one US dollar and one gram of gold cost in lira. Each line starts at 100 at the left edge.
16 October 2026
- US dollar3,393
- Gram of gold12,520
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What you see
What one US dollar and one gram of gold cost in lira. Each line starts at 100 on the left of the chart. The points are weekly.
What it means
Every climbing line is the lira losing value. Gold climbed faster than the dollar, so gold protected better against the lira's fall.
16 October 2026: 49.5 lira per US dollar and 6,680 lira per gram of gold. Over the last year: +18.3 % for the dollar, +24.2 % for gold.
Gold price in Turkish liraQuestions about Turkey in gold
How much gold does Turkey's central bank hold?
Turkey's central bank has almost doubled its gold: from about 440 tonnes ten years ago to about 800 tonnes today. 795 tonnes in September 2026, against 442 tonnes in September 2016. Gold is 64 percent of the official reserve assets in September 2026.
What does a shopping basket in Turkey cost in dollars and in gold?
A shopping basket that cost 100 lira in January 2010 costs 2,509 lira today. In US dollars the same basket got cheaper (76), and in gold it got about 5 times cheaper (19). September 2026, January 2010 = 100: 2,509 in lira, 76 in US dollars, 19 in gold. Over the last 12 months: +29.7 % in lira, +10.2 % in dollars, −6.1 % in gold.
How much of Turkish households' savings is kept outside the lira?
41 percent of what households keep in Turkish banks is not in lira. That is less than at the peak in 1994 (68 percent), but today 23 percent of all savings sits in gold and other precious metals, which was below 2 percent until 2017. August 2026: 41 percent of residents' bank savings in foreign currency and precious metals, 23 percent in precious-metal accounts. The week ending 9 October 2026: 142.4 billion US dollars in foreign currency and precious metals, 82.3 billion of it in precious-metal accounts, about 5,300 US dollars per household.
How have house prices in Turkey changed in gold?
A home in Turkey costs 51 times more lira than in 2010, but only 1.7 times more dollars, and less than half the gold. The second quarter of 2026: 51,850 lira, 1,139 US dollars, 7.82 grams of gold per square metre. Over the last year: +27.7 % in lira, +6.0 % in dollars, −29.4 % in gold.
How much has the Turkish lira lost against the dollar and gold?
Since 2010 a US dollar has become 34 times dearer in lira, and a gram of gold 125 times dearer. 16 October 2026: 49.5 lira per US dollar and 6,680 lira per gram of gold. Over the last year: +18.3 % for the dollar, +24.2 % for gold.
Source and method
Source: Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT), Electronic Data Delivery System (EVDS). The CBRT is the provider of the data only. Conversions into gold and US dollars, calculations, and descriptions are Gold Standard's own, are not produced or endorsed by the CBRT, and are not investment advice.
The number of households (26,977,795 in 2025) is from TurkStat. Monthly and quarterly figures are converted with the average price of the same period, so a figure is never priced at a single day. A figure that cannot be loaded is stated as unavailable; none is estimated.
- The central bank's gold
- Holdings are the gold in the official reserve assets, including gold deposits and gold swapped, in millions of fine troy ounces, converted to tonnes at 31.1035 grams per ounce. The share is that gold, in US dollars, over the official reserve assets, in the same month.
- What a shopping basket costs
- The official consumer price index, divided by the price of each unit: the lira per US dollar and the price of gold in lira, each at the average of the month. The first month is set to 100 in every unit.
- Savings kept outside the lira
- From the central bank's monthly bank statistics for residents: households' deposits in lira, in foreign currency, and in precious-metal accounts, all in lira. The dollar views use its weekly households table, which only starts in June 2024. Precious metals include silver and other metals, so they are never turned into a weight.
- House prices
- The median price per square metre of homes valued in appraisal reports for mortgage applications, published by the central bank each quarter. Each quarter is converted into US dollars and grams of gold at the average of that quarter. A change over one year compares the four quarters ending with the latest with the four ending a year earlier.
- The lira
- What one US dollar and one gram of gold cost in lira, from the market price of gold and the exchange rate, without dealer premiums or taxes. The points are weekly.