Turkey's yearly inflation rate soared to 36 percent in December, dealing a heavy blow to citizens' livelihoods.

The Turkish Statistical Institute on Monday said the consumer price index marked a year-on-year increase of 36.08 percent last month.

Economists say the inflation rate is the highest since 2002, when President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling party took power.

The inflation has had a tumultuous effect on the country's economic and social activities.

A surge in fuel prices forced ferry services in the Bosporus Strait, which separates the European and Asian districts of Istanbul, to partly suspend operations last month.

Household electricity charges have increased by more than 50 percent since the start of January.

Turkey's inflation rate accelerated after the central bank cut a key interest rate multiple times in line with Erdogan's economic policy. That move caused the Turkish currency lira to depreciate significantly against the dollar and prices of goods to soar.

In a bid to prevent the currency from further depreciating, Turkish financial regulators have charged 24 people since November with currency manipulation by disseminating false information.

But there is little prospect of the country's economic turmoil subsiding anytime soon.