Economy of Turkey
Currency	New Turkish lira (YTL)
Fiscal year	calendar year
'''Trade organisations	G-20 industrial nations, OECD, WTO, EU Customs Union, ECO, BSEC, D-8
Statistics
GDP (PPP)	$708.053 billion (2007 est.) (16th [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2001rank.html])
GDP growth	6.1% (2006)
GDP per capita	$9,628 (2007 est.)
GDP by sector	agriculture: 11.7%, industry: 29.8%, services: 58.5% (2005 est.)
Inflation (CPI)	8.2% (2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	20% (2002)
Labour force	24.7 million (2005)
Labour force by occupation	agriculture: 35.9%, industry: 22.8%, services: 41.2% (3rd qtr. 2004)
Unemployment	10.2% plus underemployment of 4% (2005 est.)
Main industries	textiles, food processing, autos, electronics, mining (coal, chromite, copper, boron), steel, petroleum, construction, lumber, paper
Trade
Exports	$95,3 billion f.o.b. (2007 july)
Export goods	apparel, foodstuffs, textiles, metal manufactures, transport equipment
Main export partners	Germany 13%, UK 8.2%, Italy 7%, US 6.9%, France 5.1%, Spain 4.2% (2005)
Imports	$133.7 billion f.o.b. (2006 Oct.)
Import goods	machinery, chemicals, semi-finished goods, fuels, transport equipment
Main import partners	Germany 13.9%, Russia 10.5%, Italy 7%, France 5.6%, China 4.4%, US 4.1% (2005)
Public finances
Public debt	64,7% of GDP (2006 est.)
Revenues	$93.58 billion (2005)
Expenses	$115.3 billion (2005)
Economic aid	recipient: $635.8 million (2002)
[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/tu.html#Econ Main source] All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars

Turkey's economy is a complex mix of traditional craftsmanship and modern industries, increasingly dominated by the latter. The country's large agriculture sector, which ranked 7th in the world in terms of production output in 2005, accounted for 11.2% of the employment in 2006.^[1] Turkey has a strong and rapidly growing private sector, yet the state still plays a major role in industry, banking, transport, and communications. In recent years, the Turkish economy has expanded strongly, registering growth rates of 8.9% and 7.4% for the 2004 and 2005 fiscal years, respectively.

Macro-economic trends

The CIA classifies Turkey as a developed country.^[2] Turkey is a founding member of the OECD since 1961 and is also a member of the G20 industrial nations which brings together the 20 largest economies of the world. Turkey's per-capita GDP places it among the upper-middle income countries.

This is a chart of the trends in the gross domestic product of Turkey at market prices estimated by the International Monetary Fund with figures in millions of Turkish Lira.

Year	Gross Domestic Product	US Dollar Exchange	Inflation Index (2000=100)
1980	5,000,000	71.30 Old Liras	0.008
1985	35,000,000	521.49 Old Liras	0.041
1990	393,000,000	2,634.10 Old Liras	0.34
1995	7,762,000,000	46,634.58 Old Liras	6.50
2000	124,583,000,000	628,477.02 Old Liras	100
2005	487,202	1.34 New Liras	327

For calculating the purchasing power parity comparisons, 1 U.S. Dollar is generally exchanged at 0.85 New Liras.

Agricultural sector

Turkey ranked seventh worldwide in terms of agricultural production output in 2005.

As of March 2007, Turkey is the world's largest producer of hazelnut, fig, apricot, cherry, quince and pomegranate; the second largest producer of watermellon, cucumber and chickpea; the third largest producer of tomato, eggplant, green pepper and lentil; the fourth largest producer of onion and olive; the fifth largest producer of sugar beet; the sixth largest producer of tobacco, tea and apple; the seventh largest producer of cotton and barley; the eighth largest producer of almond; the ninth largest producer of wheat, rye and grapefruit, and the tenth largest producer of lemon.^[3]

Turkey has been self-sufficient in food production since the 1980s. The agricultural output has been growing at a respectable rate. However, since the 1980s agriculture has been in a state of decline in comparison to the total economy. Agricultural loans are issued with negative interest rates. Today, many of the institutions established between 1930 and 1980 continue to play important roles in the practices of farmers. Many old agricultural attitudes remain widespread, but these traditions are expected to change with the EU accession process. Turkey is dismantling the incentive system. Fertiliser and pesticide subsidies have been curtailed and remaining price supports have been gradually converted to floor prices. The government has also initiated many planned projects, such as the Southeastern Anatolia Project (G.A.P project). The advent of the G.A.P promises a very prosperous future for the southeastern agriculture.

Given all the efforts of the government, agricultural extension and research services are, in relative terms, inadequately organized in Turkey. This has been attributed to shortages of qualified advisers, transportation, and equipment. Agricultural research is distributed among nearly 100 government institutions and universities. The inability to spread the use of new technologies has been attributed to a reluctance of trained personnel to work in the field. The pay disparity in this sector is traditionally very high and incentives to train people do not cover this gap. Research is organized by commodity, with independent units for such major crops as cotton, tobacco, and citrus fruit. Observers note that coordination of the efforts of different research units and links between extension services are inadequate.

The livestock industry, compared to the initial years of the Republic, showed little improvement in productivity, and the later years of the decade saw stagnation. However livestock products, including meat, milk, wool, and eggs, contributed to more than ⅓ of the value of agricultural output. Fishing is another important part of the economy.

Industrial sector

Turkey ranked twenty-first worldwide in terms of industrial production output in 2005. Its industrial sector had a 19% share in employment, 29% share in national production, and 94% share in total exports.

The largest industry is textiles and clothing (16.3% of total industrial capacity in 2005 according to the State Institute of Statistics), followed by oil refinery (14.5%), food (10.6%), chemicals (10.3%), iron and steel (8.9%), automotive (6.3%), and machinery (5.8%). Textiles and clothing also constitutes the largest share in total exports (19% in 2005), followed by automotive (18%), iron and steel (13%), white goods (10%), chemicals and pharmaceuticals (9%), and machinery (7%).

Turkey's Vestel Electronics is the largest TV producer in Europe, accounting for a quarter of all TV sets manufactured and sold on the continent.^[4] 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.^[5] Another Turkish electronics brand, Profilo-Telra, was Europe's third largest TV producer in 2005.^[6] EU market share of Turkish companies in consumer electronics has increased significantly in the last 15 years - in color TVs from 5% in 1995 to 45% in 2005, in digital devices from 3% to 15%, and in white goods from 3% to 18%.

Turkey also has a large and growing automotive industry, which produced 1,024,987 motor vehicles in 2006^[7], ranking as the 6th largest automotive producer in Europe; behind Germany (5,819,614), France (3,174,260), Spain (2,770,435), the United Kingdom (1,648,388), and Italy (1,211,594), respectively.^[8] The automotive industry is an important part of the economy since the late 1990s. The companies in the sector are mainly located in the Marmara Region. Existing motor vehicle production capacity of the automotive industry in Turkey is 1,024,987 units per year, as of 2006. The combined capacity of the 6 companies producing passenger cars stood at 726,000 units per year in 2002, reaching 991,621 units per year in 2006^[9]. In 2002, FIAT/Tofas had 34% of this capacity, Oyak/Renault 31%, Hyundai/Assan and Toyota 14% each, Honda 4%, and Ford/Otosan 3%. With a cluster of car-makers and parts suppliers, the Turkish automotive sector, the 17th largest producer of passenger cars (991,621 units) in the world in 2006^[10], has become an integral part of the global network of production bases and now exporting over USD 14 billion (2002) worth of motor vehicles and components.

Service sector

Telecommunications were liberalised in 2004 after the creation of the Telecommunication Authority. Private sector companies operate in mobile telephony and Internet access. There were 19 million fixed phone lines, 36 million mobile phones, and 12 million Internet users by the August, 2005.

For more details on this topic, see Communications in Turkey.

The road network was an estimated 382,397 km in 1999, including 95,599 km of paved roads and 1,749 km of motorways. The rail network was 8,682 km in 1999, including 2,133 km of electrified track. There are 1,200 km of navigable waterways. There were 118 airports in 1999, including six international airports in Istanbul, Ankara, İzmir, Trabzon, Dalaman and Antalya.

For more details on this topic, see Transport in Turkey.

Tourism sector

Tourism is one of the most dynamic and fastest developing sectors in Turkey. According to travel agencies TUI AG and Thomas Cook, 31 of the 100 best hotels of the world are located in Turkey.

In the year 2005, 21,122,798 tourists vacationed in Turkey. The total revenue was $18.2 billion and with an average expenditure of $679 per tourist. Over the years, Turkey has emerged as a popular tourist destination for many Europeans, often competing with Greece, Italy and Spain. Turkish destinations such as Antalya and Muğla (sometimes called the Turkish Riviera) have become very popular among European tourists.

Financial sector

The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (Türkiye Cumhuriyet Merkez Bankası) was founded in 1930, as a privileged joint-stock company. It 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. All foreign exchange transfers are exclusively handled by the central bank. The bank has 25 domestic branches, as well as branches in New York, London, Frankfurt, and Zurich.



In 1998 there were 72 banks. In late 2000 and early 2001 a growing trade deficit and weaknesses in the banking sector plunged the economy into crisis. There was a recession followed by the floating of the lira. This financial breakdown brought the number of banks to 31. Currently more than 34% of the assets are concentrated in the Agricultural Bank (Ziraat Bankasi), Housing Bank (Yapi Kredi Bankasi), IsBank and Akbank. There are also Middle Eastern Trading Banks, which practice an Islamic type of trading. The five big state-owned banks restructured during 2001. Political involvement was minimized and loaning policies were changed. However, over-staffing remains a problem.

The Istanbul Stock Exchange opened in 1985 and Istanbul Gold Exchange in 1995. The stock market capitalisation of listed companies in Turkey was valued at $161,537 million in 2005 by the World Bank.[1]

Government regulations passed in 1929 required all insurance companies to reinsure 30% of each policy with National Reinsurance Corp. In 1954, life insurance was exempted from this requirement. The insurance market is officially regulated through the Ministry of Commerce.



After years of low levels of foreign direct investment (FDI), in 2005 Turkey succeeded in attracting $9.6 billion in FDI and is expected to attract a similar level in 2006. A series of large privatizations, the stability fostered by the start of Turkey’s EU accession negotiations, strong and stable growth, and structural changes in the banking, retail, and telecommunications sectors have all contributed to the rise in foreign investment. Turkey has taken steps to improve its investment climate through administrative streamlining, an end to foreign investment screening, and strengthened intellectual property legislation. However, a number of disputes involving foreign investors in Turkey and certain policies, such as high taxation of cola products and continuing gaps in the intellectual property regime, inhibit investment. Turkey has a number of bilateral investment and tax treaties, including with the United States, that guarantee free repatriation of capital in convertible currencies and eliminate double taxation.

In recent years the economic situation has been marked by erratic economic growth and serious imbalances. Real GNP growth has exceeded 6% in many years, but this strong expansion has been interrupted by sharp declines in output in 1994, 1999, and 2001. Meanwhile the public sector fiscal deficit has regularly exceeded 10% of GDP - due in large part to the huge burden of interest payments, which in 2001 accounted for more than 50% of central government spending - while inflation has remained in the high double digit range. Since 2003, the inflation has lowered to single digits, and the economy is showing an average growth of 7.8%, between 2002-2005. Fiscal deficit is benefiting (though in small amount) from large industry privatizations.

For a time, the lira was synonymous with low-valued currency. Recently, the "New Turkish lira" was introduced, worth 1 million old lira. (In essence, they "slashed off six zeroes".) This was meant to be a symbol of a stronger currency, after a long period of high inflation that had devalued the currency so greatly.

External trade and investment

Turkey is one of the strongest sources of foreign direct investment in central and eastern Europe and the CIS, with more than $1.5 billion invested. Of this, 32 per cent has been invested in Russia, primarily in the natural resources and construction sectors, and an additional 46 per cent in Turkey’s Black Sea neighbours, Bulgaria and Romania. In addition, Turkish firms have sizeable recorded FDI stocks in Poland ($100 million). The Turkish construction/contracting industry has been a significant player (e.g. Enka and Üçgen İnşaat, etc) as well as the three industrial groups, namely Anadolu Efes Group, ŞişeCam Group and Vestel Group.

Turkey's exports are expected to reach $100 billion in 2007, but imports will rise to $160 billion, mostly due to the country's need of energy resources like natural gas and crude oil.^[11] Turkey targets exports of $200 billion in 2013, and a total trade volume of at least $450 billion.^[12] Turkish export mix has changed considerably in the last two decades. Share of natural gas decreased from 74% in 1980 to 30% in 1990 and 12% in 2005. Share of mid/high technology products has increased from 5% in 1980 to 14% in 1990 and 43% in 2005.

Turkey's main trading partners are the European Union (59% of exports and 52% of imports as of 2005),^[13] the United States, Russia and Japan. Turkey has taken advantage of a customs union with the European Union, signed in 1995, to increase its industrial production destined for exports, while at the same time benefiting from EU-origin foreign investment into the country.^[14]

Natural resources

Turkey ranks tenth in the world in terms of the diversity of minerals produced in the country. Around 60 different minerals are currently produced in Turkey. The richest mineral deposits in the country are boron salts and Turkey’s reserves amount to 63% of the world’s total.

Turkey is an oil producer, but the level of production isn't enough to make the country self sufficient. As a result, it is a net oil and gas importer.

The pipeline network in Turkey included 1,738 km for crude oil, 2,321 km for petroleum products, and 708 km for natural gas in 1999. Several major new pipelines are planned, especially the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline for Caspian oilfields, the longest one in the world, which recently opened in 2005.

According to the CIA World Factbook, other natural resources include coal, iron ore, copper, chromium, uranium, antimony, mercury, gold, barite, borate, celestine (strontium), emery, feldspar, limestone, magnesite, marble, perlite, pumice, pyrites (sulfur), clay, arable land, hydropower.

The ore borax, from which boron is extracted is very abundant in Turkey. Turkey along with the United States, is one of the world's largest producers of boron.

Energy

To cover the increasing energy needs of its population and ensure the continued raising of its living standard, Turkey plans several nuclear power plants. Nuclear power proposals were presented as early as in the 1960s, but plans were repeatedly canceled even after bids were made by interested manufacturers because of high costs and safety concerns. Turkey has always chosen Candu nuclear reactors because they burn natural uranium which is cheap and available locally and because they can be refueled online. This has caused uneasy feelings to Turkey's neighbors because they are ideal for producing weapons grade plutonium.

Labor

Turkey's workforce is flexible, with a wide spectrum of skills from the unskilled to highly qualified. Turkey is obliged to apply EU (European Union) employment and social laws to qualify for membership. In 2006, Eurostat calculated the minimum wage in Turkey as €331, which was larger than the minimum wage in nine European Union member states, namely Bulgaria (€82), Romania (€90), Latvia (€129), Lithuania (€159), Slovakia (€183), Estonia (€192), Poland (€234), Hungary (€247) and the Czech Republic (€261); while lower than the minimum wage in Portugal (€437).^[15][16]

Environment

With the establishment of the Turkish Environment Ministry in 1991, Turkey began to make significant progress addressing some of its most pressing environmental problems. The most dramatic improvements were significant reductions of air pollution in Istanbul and Ankara. The most pressing needs are for water treatment plants, wastewater treatment facilities, solid waste management and conservation of biodiversity. On average, the environmental performance of private corporations is much better than the large number of state owned enterprises.

References and notes

See also

• Economy of Europe

External links

• TAIK (Turkish- U.S. Business Council) website
• OECD's Turkey country Web site and OECD Economic Survey of Turkey
• Deutsche Bank Research
• Turkey: Automobile Exports Reach US $10.6 Billion Between Jan-Sep 2006
• A Guide on Doing Business in Turkey

•  • [ e] Turkey-related topics
People	Turkic peoples Turkish people People of Turkey
History	Sultanate of Rm Anatolian Turkish Beyliks Ottoman Empire (Rise • Growth • Stagnation • Decline • Dissolution) Republican history (War of Independence • Single-party period • Multi-party period) Military history Constitutional history Economic history Timeline
Politics and government	Republic of Turkey President Prime Minister Parliament Council of Ministers Political parties Elections Foreign relations Military Secularism
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Geography	Anatolia Regions Provinces Districts Cities Environment Islands Turkish Riviera
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•  • [ e] Economy of Asia
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1Transcontinental nations

•  • [ e] Economy of Europe
Sovereign states	Albania Andorra Armenia1 Austria Azerbaijan2 Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus1 Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Georgia2 Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Kazakhstan2 Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Republic of Macedonia Malta Moldova Monaco Montenegro Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia3 San Marino Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey3 Ukraine United Kingdom Vatican City
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1 Entirely in West Asia; included here because of cultural, political and historical association with Europe. 2 Partially or entirely in Asia, depending on the definition of the border between Europe and Asia. 3 Partially in Asia. 4 Entirely in the African Plate, included here because of cultural, political and historical association with Europe. 5 Only recognised by Turkey.