You heard so much about hair transplants in Turkey and the respective rise of the popularity of the destination for cosmetic surgery. Driven by an innate thrill to discover more about this previously hidden golden opportunity, the cheap costs of hair transplants and cosmetic surgery in Turkey entirely transform your perspective. What was previously a dreamy experience is now a niche of darkness and doubt. Why are hair transplants so cheap in Turkey? A typical reaction in a society where costs have come to be a conspicuous metric of quality. However, most patients fail to acknowledge the differences in global economics, and that the costs when contrasted with those in the UK and the US make the decision of reverting or indulging a matter of perspective. Whether you are curious to discover the game of economics or are here to dismantle your doubts, you have come to the right place.
Why are hair transplants so cheap in Turkey?
♠ It is a matter of perspective
A common mistake among many is that they do not consider the costs of living in Turkey when comparing surgery prices. For patients in the USA, UK, or Europe earning their money in Dollars, Pounds or Euros Turkey is cheaper. However, it is not reasonable for the average person living here. $2500 might be affordable for you, but when compared with the mean wage in Turkey, it is not.
- Accommodation: The average salary in Turkey is 4000 TL, and the rent ranges between 1500 to 3000 Turkish Liras. So, not only are the wages lower but even saving is near impossible. With rent alone consuming anywhere between 30-40% of the actual salary, there is no room for saving.
- Transportation and food: The average public transport fee is around 5 Liras per ride. Monthly, on average, it would cost about 300 Turkish Liras. The average lunchtime meal is approximately 32 Turkish Liras, not to mention bills, entertainment fees, and housing materials fees.
- When comparing the somewhat expensive lifestyle to the average monthly salaries of locals in Turkey, you will find that surgery costs are anything but cheap for the locals.
- For instance, in the UK the average monthly salary is around 4,600 GBP, around 54,612 Turkish Liras. The average cost of the FUE surgery could be around 30,000 pounds if a patient needs up to 5,500 grafts. (The costs can vary on either side of the scale based on number of grafts to be implanted, the mean number of grafts a patient may need are around 5,500).
- Therefore the ratio of avg salary to avg surgery costs in the UK is around 0.15 whereas the same calculation for Turkey yields a ratio of 0.15 which is closely similar to that of the UK.
♠Turkey locally Manufactures Medical Equipment
This concept contributes to low health care costs and surgery prices in Turkey. Turkey supports the domestic manufacturing of any goods and products over importing. To emphasize its support, Turkey sells imported products and goods at a much higher rate compared to locally manufactured material. In turn, this translates to more local production and less importing. As a result, it eliminates shipping, logistics, and customs costs from the final pricing stage.
Consequently, the pricing becomes lower, not because the government is supporting it, but the overall cost for domestic production is cheaper than imported goods. For that reason, surgeries and medical care in Turkey are considerably less expensive than Europe and the USA.
♠Purchasing power parity differences and cheap hair transplants
Okay, you are thinking, but Europe and the US both locally manufacture their equipment and surgery prices are still high. True, but local manufacturing is only one factor contributing to the process. Besides, when considering Purchasing power parity (PPP) differences, the equations become simple. PPP compares the currencies of two countries through an approach known as “basket of goods.” In simple words, the two countries are equal if the basket of goods is priced the same in both countries.
With that, the PPP ratio between the US and Turkey is 1.451. In other words, resources in Turkey are cheaper which is why even though both countries locally manufacture their products, manufacturing costs are higher in other countries than in Turkey.
In summary
In a nutshell, the answer to why hair transplants are cheaper in Turkey is a key understanding of how the world works. The low prices have everything to do with the economy and nothing to do with the quality. The rates might be low for you as a medical tourist earning your money in dollars, euros or pounds. However, when the prices are compared to the cost of living in Turkey, from accommodation to food, to entertainment, and bills; the average cost of surgeries in Turkey is out of reach for the majority of the public. Turkey locally manufactures its equipment which cuts the extra budget that goes into shipping, logistics, and customs. Moreover, according to purchasing power parity differences, it costs Turkey less money to manufacture goods than it does say the USA.
In short, why are hair transplants so cheap in Turkey? because you come from abroad.
All these economic differences and factors go into the final calculations of the prices. We hope we addressed your concerns. Just learn how to choose the right hospital, or contact us and we’ll gladly assist you.