The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) deputy Ayhan Barut said almost 8 million people in Turkey had applied for treatment at psychiatry clinics in the last three years, Cumhuriyet newspaper reported on Sunday.

The number of people who ended their lives due to financial difficulties between 2002 and 2018 reached 5,485, he said, citing a report by the CHP.

"Due to economic difficulties and the increase in cost of living, we are experiencing communal insanity," Barut said.

The opposition deputy said a parliamentary commission must be established to fully identify these problems and take necessary measures for a solution.

In 2019, Turkey was hit by a wave of family deaths by collective suicides involving cyanide with a total of 11 people in three families losing their lives over a week in November.

Financial problems are one of the major factors prompting Turks to commit suicide, according to a report by the Turkish Statistical Institute.