As the fifth-most-visited destination in the world,[41] Turkey has a large tourism industry, which accounted for 12% of the country's total GDP in 2023.[42] First established in 2000, many technoparks were pioneered by Turkish universities, now hosting over 1,600 R&D centers that drew investment by both domestic and international corporations.[43] Turkey is also among the world's leading producers of motor vehicles, consumer electronics, home appliances and defense products. In 2021, the country was ranked eighth in the world in the technology rankings of the Economic Complexity Index.[44]
In the first quarter of the 21st century, there have been major developments in the financial and social aspects of Turkey's economy, such as increases in employment and average income since 2000.[45] A period of strong economic growth between 2002 and 2013 (except for 2009 due to the 2008 financial crisis)[46] was followed by a period of stagnation and recession in terms of USD-based nominal GDP figures between 2014 and 2020,[46] especially during the 2018 Turkish currency and debt crisis; even though Turkey's USD-based GDP-PPP and TL-based nominal GDP have continued to grow in this period.[46] Since 2021, there has been a steady recovery and rapid growth in Turkey's USD-based nominal GDP and GDP-PPP figures,[8][38] which have reached their all-time highest values in both 2023 and 2024.[8][38]
Growth-focused and populist financial policies, such as the preference to keep interest rates as low as possible (dubbed Erdoganomics)[47][48] have led to one of the world's highest inflation rates since 2018.[49] Following the Turkish parliamentary and presidential elections on May 14 and 28, 2023, and the appointment of Mehmet Şimşek as the Minister of Treasury and Finance on June 4, 2023, Turkey has adopted a more orthodox monetary policy regarding interest rates and has succeeded in gradually decreasing inflation from 85.5% in late 2022 to 42.1% in early 2025.[49][10]
Change in per capita GDP of Turkey, 1913–2018. Figures are inflation-adjusted to 2011 International dollars.[citation needed]Turkey's CO2 emissions growth compared GDP growthGeneral government net debt as percentage of GDP for selected European countries, including Turkey
The following table shows the main economic indicators from 1980 to 2024 (with IMF staff estimates in 2024–2029). Inflation below 10% is in green.[50]
As of November 2023, there are 1,086,670 registered companies based in Turkey. The sector with the highest number of companies registered in the country is manufacturing with 241,362 companies. This is followed by wholesale trading and services with 197,476 and 187,325 companies respectively.[51]
The Atatürk Dam is the largest of the 22 dams in the Southeastern Anatolia Project. The program includes 22 dams, 19 hydraulic power plants, and the irrigation of 1.82 million hectares of land. The total cost of the project is estimated at $32 billion.
Agriculture is still an important sector of Turkey's economy, and the country is one of the world's top ten agricultural producers.[52] Wheat, sugar beet, milk, poultry, cotton, vegetables and fruit are major products;[53] and Turkey is the world's largest grower of hazelnuts,[54]apricots,[53] and oregano.[55]
Half of Turkey's land is agricultural,[53] and farming employs about 15% of the workforce,[56] but under half a million farmers.[57][58] It provides about 10% of exports[59] and over 5% of gross domestic product (GDP).[60] Over 380 billion lira of agricultural subsidy is budgeted for 2024.[61]
Despite being a major food producer, Turkey is a net wheat importer, much of it coming from Russia and Ukraine.[62] Turkey is the European Union's fourth largest vegetable supplier and seventh largest fruit supplier. Turkey would like to extend the EU Customs Union Agreement to agricultural products.[63]
Turkey's Vestel is the largest TV producer in Europe, accounting for a quarter of all TV sets manufactured and sold on the continent in 2006.[69] By January 2005, Vestel and its rival Turkish electronics and white goods brand Beko accounted for more than half of all TV sets manufactured in Europe.[70] Another Turkish electronics brand, Profilo Telra, was Europe's third-largest TV producer in 2005.[71]
Turkey is the world's fifth-largest exporter of textiles, accounting for 10% of the country's GDP and employing 750 000 people in 2018. Turkish companies made clothing exports worth $13.98 billion in 2006; more than $10.67 billion of which (76.33%) were exported to the European Union.[72]
The automotive industry in Turkey, which plays an important role in the manufacturing sector of the Turkish economy, produced 1,352,648 motor vehicles in 2022,[73] ranking as the 13th largest producer in the world (production peaked at 1,695,731 motor vehicles in 2017, when Turkey also ranked 13th).[74] Turkish automotive companies like TEMSA, Otokar and BMC are among the world's largest van, bus and truck manufacturers. Togg, or Turkey's Automobile Joint Venture Group Inc. is the first all-electric vehicle company of Turkey.[75]
The automotive industry is an important part of the economy since the late 1960s. The companies that operate in the sector are mainly located in the Marmara Region. With a cluster of car-makers and parts suppliers, the Turkish automotive sector has become an integral part of the global network of production bases, exporting over $22.94 billion worth of motor vehicles and components in 2008.[80][81]
Global car manufacturers with production plants include Fiat/Tofaş, Oyak-Renault, Hyundai, Toyota, Honda and Ford/Otosan. Turkish automotive companies like TEMSA, Otokar and BMC are among the world's largest van, bus and truck manufacturers.[citation needed]Togg is a new Turkish automotive company established in 2018 for producing EVs.[78][82] Togg's factory in Gemlik, Bursa Province, was inaugurated on 29 October 2022, the 99th anniversary of the Turkish Republic.[79]
Turkey's annual auto exports, including trucks and buses, surpassed 1 million units for the first time in 2016 as foreign automakers' investment in new models and a recovery in its mainstay European market lifted shipments. According to the industry group Automotive Manufacturers Association (OSD), Turkey-based car plants exported 1.14 million units in 2016, up 15% from the year before.[83] Auto exports hit a record high for the fourth straight year. Production grew 9% year on year in 2016 to 1.48 million units, setting a new record for the second consecutive year. Nearly 80% of vehicles produced in Turkey were exported.[84]
Turkey ranks 8th in the list of countries by steel production. In 2013, total steel production was 35.134 million tonnes.[102] Turkey's crude steel production reached a record high of 34.1 million tons in 2011.[103]
Notable producers (above 2 million tonnes) and their ranks among top steel producing companies.[104]
Erdemir (7.1 million tonnes) (47th) (Only Erdemir-Turkey; Erdemir-Romania is not included)
Turkey boasts over 80 technoparks where around 6,000 national and multinational companies engage in R&D activities.[105]TÜBİTAK is the leading agency for developing science, technology and innovation policies in Turkey.[106] The Turkish Academy of Sciences is an autonomous scholarly society acting to promote scientific activities in Turkey.[107]TAEK is the official nuclear energy institution of Turkey. Its objectives include academic research in nuclear energy, and the development and implementation of peaceful nuclear tools.[108]
The Turkish construction and contracting industry is made up of a large number of businesses. In 2016 a total of 39 Turkish construction and contracting companies were listed in the Top 250 International Contractors List prepared by the Engineering News-Record.[112][113] From the beginning of the 1970s to the end of 2022, Turkish contractors have completed more than 11,605 projects in 133 countries.[114] Their business volume abroad has reached 472 billion US Dollars in 2022.[114]
IFC and the skyline of Ataşehir district on the Asian side of Istanbul. The construction sector plays an important role in Turkey's economy.
As Turkey is prone to strong earthquakes, the buildings that were constructed before the post-1999 safety standards and regulations remain a major concern, with many ongoing urban redevelopment and reconstruction projects, especially in large cities. In 2019, an amnesty plan to register illegally constructed buildings for generating extra tax revenues to the government brought in $3.1 billion, but the plan was criticized for ignoring safety issues.[115] The two major earthquakes on February 6, 2023, in southern Turkey have revealed that some of the recently built structures that collapsed were not constructed in accordance with the latest safety regulations.[116]
During the 19th and early 20th centuries, Bankalar Caddesi (Banks Street) in Istanbul was the financial center of the Ottoman Empire, where the headquarters of the Ottoman Bank (established as the Bank-ı Osmanî in 1856, and later reorganized as the Bank-ı Osmanî-i Şahane in 1863)[120] and the Ottoman Stock Exchange (1866) were located.[121] Bankalar Caddesi continued to be Istanbul's main financial district until the 1990s, when most Turkish banks began moving their headquarters to the modern central business districts of Levent and Maslak.[121]
Originally established as the Ottoman Stock Exchange (Dersaadet Tahvilat Borsası) in 1866, and reorganized to its current structure at the beginning of 1986, the Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE) is the sole securities market of Turkey.[122] In 1995, the Istanbul Stock Exchange moved to its current building in the Istinye quarter.[123] The Istanbul Gold Exchange was also established in 1995.
The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (Türkiye Cumhuriyet Merkez Bankası) was founded in 1930 as a privileged joint-stock company. The CBRT possesses the sole right to issue notes. It also has the obligation to provide for the monetary requirements of the state agricultural and commercial enterprises.
The "New Turkish lira" (TRY) was introduced on 1 January 2005.[124] On 1 January 2009, the New Turkish lira was renamed once again as the "Turkish lira", with the introduction of new banknotes and coins.
Banking came under stress beginning in October 2008, as a result of the 2008 financial crisis. Turkish banking authorities warned state-run banks against the pullback of loans from the larger financial sectors.[125]
Söğütözü business district in Ankara, Turkey's capital and second largest city
Turkey's economy resumed its growth between 2009 and 2013, which was followed by a period of stagnation and recession between 2014 and 2020. Turkey's GDP began to recover and grow again in the period between 2020 and 2024.
In 2020, the total value of assets of the banking sector in Turkey amounted to more than $800 billion.[126] As of January 2021, there were a total of 48 banks operating with 9,880 branches in Turkey and 71 branches abroad.[127] As of October 2021[update], the foreign currency deposits of the citizens and residents in Turkish banks stood at $234 billion, equivalent to around half of all deposits.[128][129] As of October 2024[update], the foreign currency reserves of the Turkish Central Bank were $85 billion, its gold reserves were $67.4 billion, while its official reserve assets stood at $159.8 billion.[130]
As of 2010, the country had a roadway network of 426,951 km, including 2,080 km of expressways and 16,784 km of divided highways.[144]
As of 2010, the Turkish merchant marine included 1,199 ships (604 registered at home), ranking 7th in the world.[145] Turkey's coastline has 1,200 km of navigable waterways.[145]
In 2008, 7,555 kilometres (4,694 mi) of natural gas pipelines and 3,636 kilometres (2,259 mi) of petroleum pipelines spanned the country's territory.[145]
The telecommunications liberalisation process started in 2004 after the creation of the Telecommunication Authority, and is still ongoing.[citation needed] Private sector companies operate in mobile telephony, long-distance telephony and Internet access. Additional digital exchanges are permitting a rapid increase in subscribers;[citation needed] the construction of a network of technologically advanced intercity trunk lines, using both fiber-optic cable and digital microwave radio relay, is facilitating communication between urban centres.[145]
The remote areas of the country are reached by a domestic satellite system, while the number of subscribers to mobile-cellular telephone service is growing rapidly.[145]
The main line international telephone service is provided by the SEA-ME-WE 3 submarine communications cable and by submarine fiber-optic cables in the Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea that link Turkey with Italy, Greece, Israel, Bulgaria, Romania, and Russia.[145] In 2002, there were 12 Intelsat satellite earth stations; and 328 mobile satellite terminals in the Inmarsat and Eutelsat systems.[145]
As of 2001, there were 16 AM, 107 FM, and 6 shortwave radio stations in the country.[145][needs update]
As of 2015, there were 42,275,017 internet users in Turkey, which ranked 15th in the world;[145] while as of 2012, there were 7,093,000 internet hosts in the country, which ranked 16th in the world.[145]
Over the years, Turkey has emerged as a popular tourist destination for many Europeans, competing with other Mediterranean countries such as Greece, Italy and Spain. Resorts in provinces such as Antalya and Muğla (which are located on the Turkish Riviera) have become very popular among tourists.[149]
There are numerous private hospitals in Turkey, which has benefited from medical tourism in recent years. Health tourism generated revenues worth $1 billion in 2019 for Turkey's economy.[150] A total of 662,087 patients were treated at Turkish hospitals in 2019 within the scope of health tourism, with around 60% of the income being obtained from plastic surgeries.[150]
In 2024, ten publicly traded Turkish companies were listed in the Forbes Global 2000 list – an annual ranking of the top 2000 public companies in the world by Forbes magazine.[151] The banking industry leads with four companies in the list followed by the airline, automotive and retailer with one company each. There are also three conglomerates. As of 2024, the listed public companies were:
The following "OECD Long Term Projections" table was published in February 2022 for the 16 largest economies by GDP using PPP exchange rates from 2030 to 2060.[152]
The top 16 largest economies in the world (GDP at 2010 constant PPP in billions USD)
As of 2016, the main trading partners of Turkey are the European Union, Russia, the United Kingdom, the UAE, Iraq, and China, many being top in both export as well as import.[153] Turkey has taken advantage of a customs union with the EU, signed in 1995, to increase industrial production for exports, while benefiting from EU-origin foreign investment into the country.[154] In addition to the European-Turkish Customs Union, the Turkish government has signed free-trade agreements with 22 countries.[155]
A very large aspect of Turkey trade revolves around the automotive industry, where its top exports are cars, accounting for $13.2 billion. Other top exports from the country are gold, delivery trucks, vehicle parts and jewelry, which are respectively, $6.96 billion, $5.04 billion, $4.64 billion, and $3.39 billion. These values are calculated using the 1992 revision of the Harmonized System classification. Comparatively, it imports many of the same industries, such as, gold valued at $17.1 billion, refined petroleum at $9.8 billion, cars at $8.78 billion, vehicle parts at $6.34 billion and scrap iron at $5.84 billion.[156]
Turkey had many improvements in the ease of doing business index. Its rank increased from 68th in 2017 to 33rd in 2020. As of 2021, it was performing better than countries like the Netherlands and Belgium.[159][160][161][vague]
According to some studies a coal-phase out in favour of renewable energy would increase employment.[165][166]
Turkey's energy trade deficit was over US$80 billion in 2022,[167] causing a large foreign trade deficit.[168] Europe supports energy efficiency and renewable energy via the €1 billion Mid-size Sustainable Energy Financing Facility (MidSEFF) to finance investments in these areas.[169][170]Energy subsidies amounted to 200 billion lira in 2021.[171] Up to 150kWh per month of free electricity is provided to two million poor families.[172]
Fatih Birol, the head of the International Energy Agency said in 2019 that, because of its falling price, the focus should be on maximizing onshore wind power in Turkey.[173] The economics of coal power has been modelled by Carbon Tracker.[174] They estimate that for new plants both wind and solar is already cheaper than coal power.[175] And they forecast that existing coal plants will be more expensive than new solar by 2023 and new wind by 2027.[175]
Most energy deals in 2019 were for renewables, and over half the investment in these was from outside the country.[176] The external costs of fossil fuel consumption in 2018 has been estimated as 1.5% of GDP.[177] The government sets the price of residential gas and electricity,[178] and as of 2018[update], for residential consumers, "high cost is the most important problem of Turkey's energy system".[179]
In 2022, the energy import bill was 97 billion USD. Keeping consumer prices low is a political priority.[167] In 2024, Shura estimated the costs of moving to clean energy at about half the benefits, which are mostly due to reduced air pollution and carbon emissions.[180]
Renewables supply a quarter of energy in Turkey, including heat and electricity. Some houses have rooftop solar water heating, and hot water from underground warms many spas and greenhouses. In parts of the west hot rocks are shallow enough to generate electricity as well as heat. Wind turbines, also mainly near western cities and industry, generate a tenth of Turkey’s electricity. Hydropower, mostly from dams in the east, is the only modern renewable energy which is fully exploited. Hydropower averages about a fifth of the country's electricity, but much less in drought years.[181] Apart from wind and hydro, other renewables; such as geothermal, solar and biogas; together generated almost a tenth of Turkey’s electricity in 2022.[182] Over half the installed capacity for electricity generation is renewables.[183]: section 4.2.1
Turkey has a long history of wood burning, windmills, and bathing in hot springs. Many dams were built from the mid-20th to early 21st century, but some say that governments have not allowed civil society enough influence on energy policy, leading to protests against building dams, geothermal power plants, and at least one wind farm.[184] Despite Turkey’s sunny climate solar power is underdeveloped. As the electricity system is already flexible increasing to 70% renewables is easily feasible.[185]: 21 Solar power could be expanded more quickly if the electricity grid was improved faster and energy policy revised, especially by abolishing fossil fuel subsidies.
Households buy the most gas, followed by industry and power stations.[196] Over 80% of the population has access to gas,[197] and it supplies half the country's heating requirements.[191] As the state-owned oil and gas wholesaler BOTAŞ has 80% of the gas market,[189]: 16 the government can and does subsidize residential and industrial gas consumers.[198] All industrial and commercial customers, and households using more than a certain amount of gas, can switch suppliers.[189]
Coal is a major contributor to air pollution, and damages health across the nation, being burnt even in homes and cities.[212] Most coal is burnt in power stations, and it is estimated that a phase out of coal power in Turkey by 2030 instead of by the 2050s would save over 100 thousand lives.[213]Flue gas emission limits are in place, but data from mandatory reporting is not made public.
As a gold producer Turkey is currently ranked 22nd globally. Hosting some of the largest gold deposits on the European continent it is currently Europe's largest gold producer, producing 42 tonnes of gold in 2020.[231] World class deposits include Kisladag Mine 17Moz and Copler 10Moz.[citation needed]
Almost all "post-COVID" stimulus was detrimental to the environment, with Russia being the only worse country.[232] In the 21st century, Turkey's fossil fuel subsidies are around 0.2% of GDP,[233][234] including at least US$14 billion (US$169 per person) between January 2020 and September 2021.[235] Data on finance for fossil fuels by state-owned banks and export credit agencies is not public.[236]
As of 2023 fossil gas is subsidized more than electricity - equalizing the subsidies would benefit the environment.[237]
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2021)
The minimum wage in Turkey is ₺ 22,104 (US$ 630.36) as of January 1, 2025.[238][239]
TurkStat estimated unemployment at 9.4% in 2023. The province with the highest unemployment rate was Hakkari at 23.3% and the province with the lowest unemployment rate was Sinop at 4.8%.[240]
In 2021, trade unions complained that according to TurkStat data the unemployment rate was falling, whereas the data provided by the government's Employment Agency (İŞKUR) showed that it was rising.[241][needs update?] Environmentalists argue that some actions to improve the environment would also benefit the economy. For example, investing in wind power in Turkey and solar power in Turkey would create jobs and is competitive with fossil fuels.[242]
Turkey made steady progress in reducing poverty from the early 2000s to the mid-2010s, after which the trend levelled off.[243][244][vague] In 2022, social security expenditure stood at 12.4% of GDP according to OECD data.[245]
According to Eurostat data, Turkish GDP per capita adjusted by purchasing power standards stood at 64 percent of the EU average in 2018.[246]Istanbul has the largest GDP, while Kocaeli comes first in GDP per capita.[247]
The country's wealth is mainly concentrated in the northwest and west, while the east and southeast suffer from poverty, lower economic production and higher levels of unemployment.[248] However, in line with the rapid growth of Turkey's GDP during the first two decades of the 21st century (with brief periods of stagnation and recession), parts of Anatolia began reaching a higher economic standard. These cities are known as the Anatolian Tigers.[249]
Difiglio, Carmine; Güray, Bora Şekip; Merdan, Ersin (November 2020). Turkey Energy Outlook. iicec.sabanciuniv.edu (Report). Sabanci University Istanbul International Center for Energy and Climate (IICEC). ISBN978-605-70031-9-5.