Turkey Economy
General
Turkey's economy is a mixture of modern industry and traditional agriculture; great strides have been made since the 1970s to strengthen and diversify the economy. The most productive farmland is in West Turkey, but in recent years the country has instituted the massive Southeast Anatolia Project to use the Tigris and Euphrates rivers for irrigation and hydroelectric power. This project envisions the construction of 22 dams and 19 hydroelectric plants on the two rivers. In the late 1990s the giant Atatürk Dam and Reservoir on the upper Euphrates, as well as two other dams and adjacent power plants, had been completed, and six more were under construction. Although plagued by the conflict with Kurdish separatists and bitterly opposed by Syria and Iraq (who are concerned that the downstream water flow from the rivers to them will be severely impeded), the project is continuing. The government's goal is to transform arid South East Turkey into a prosperous agricultural-industrial region.Turkey's chief crops are tobacco, cotton, wheat, barley, corn, rye, oats, rice, olives, figs, raisins, sugar beets, and fruit. Large numbers of sheep, goats (including many mohair-producing Angora goats), and cattle are raised.
The principal minerals extracted are coal, chromium, lignite, copper and iron ores, antimony, mercury, and boron. Some petroleum is produced. The leading industrial centers are Istanbul, Ankara, Karabük, Bursa, Izmir, Adana, Samsun, and Diyarbakir. The country's chief manufactures include textiles, clothing, processed food, iron and steel, petroleum, construction materials (especially cement), forest products, wine, and chemical fertilizer. Turkey is also noted for the manufacture of carpets, Meerschaum pipes and artifacts, and pottery. There is a substantial tourist trade.
Turkey's main ports are Istanbul, Izmir, Samsun, Iskenderun, Mersin, and Trabzon. Turkey has one of the Middle East's best road and rail systems, which includes the Baghdad Railway. The annual value of Turkey's imports is usually considerably higher than that of its exports. The chief imports are machinery, crude oil, metals, pharmaceuticals, plastics, rubber, and chemicals; the principal exports are textiles and clothing, iron and steel products, agricultural produce, and minerals. The leading trade partners are Germany, the United States, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Turkey joined in a customs union with the European Union in 1995. Large numbers of Turks are employed in Western Europe, especially in Germany.
An Overview :
| Economy - overview | Turkey's dynamic economy is a complex mix of modern industry and commerce along with a traditional agriculture sector that in 2004 still accounted for more than 35% of employment. It has a strong and rapidly growing private sector, yet the state still plays a major role in basic industry, banking, transport, and communication. The largest industrial sector is textiles and clothing, which accounts for one-third of industrial employment; it faces stiff competition in international markets with the end of the global quota system. However, other sectors, notably the automotive and electronics industries, are rising in importance within Turkey's export mix. 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. Inflation, in recent years in the high double-digit range, fell to 9.3% by 2004 - a 30-year low. Despite these strong economic gains in 2002-04, which were largely due to renewed investor interest in emerging markets, IMF backing, and tighter fiscal policy, the economy is still plagued with high debt and deficits. The public sector fiscal deficit exceeds 6% of GDP - due in large part to the huge burden of interest payments, which accounted for more than 40% of central government spending in 2004, and to populist spending. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Turkey remains low - averaging less than $1 billion annually, but further economic and judicial reforms and prospective EU membership are expected to boost FDI. A major political and economic issue over the next decade is whether or not Turkey will become a member of the EU. |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $508.7 billion (2004 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 8.2% (2004 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $7,400 (2004 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 11.7% industry: 29.8% services: 58.5% (2003 est.) |
| Labour force | 25.3 million note: about 1.2 million Turks work abroad (2003 est.) |
| Labour force - by occupation | agriculture 35.9%, industry 22.8%, services 41.2% (3rd quarter, 2004) |
| Unemployment rate | 9.3% (plus underemployment of 4.0%) (2004 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 20% (2002) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.3% highest 10%: 30.7% (2000) |
| Distribution of family income - Gini index | 42 (2003) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 9.3% (2004 est.) |
| Investment (gross fixed) | 17.3% of GDP (2004 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $78.53 billion expenditures: $110.9 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
| Public debt | 74.3% of GDP (2004 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar beets, pulse, citrus; livestock |
| Industries | textiles, food processing, autos, mining (coal, chromite, copper, boron), steel, petroleum, construction, lumber, paper |
| Industrial production growth rate | 16.5% (2004 est.) |
| Electricity - production | 139.7 billion kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - consumption | 117.9 billion kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - exports | 433 million kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - imports | 3.6 billion kWh (2002) |
| Oil - production | 48,000 bbl/day (2001 est.) |
| Oil - consumption | 619,500 bbl/day (2001 est.) |
| Oil - exports | 46,110 bbl/day (2001) |
| Oil - imports | 616,500 bbl/day (2001) |
| Oil - proved reserves | 288.4 million bbl (1 January 2002) |
| Natural gas - production | 312 million cu m (2001 est.) |
| Natural gas - consumption | 15.94 billion cu m (2001 est.) |
| Natural gas - exports | 0 cu m (2001 est.) |
| Natural gas - imports | 15.75 billion cu m (2001 est.) |
| Natural gas - proved reserves | 8.685 billion cu m (1 January 2002) |
| Current account balance | $-15.3 billion (2004 est.) |
| Exports | $69.46 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | apparel, foodstuffs, textiles, metal manufactures, transport equipment |
| Exports - partners | Germany 13.9%, UK 8.8%, US 7.7%, Italy 7.4%, France 5.8%, Spain 4.2% (2004) |
| Imports | $94.5 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery, chemicals, semi-finished goods, fuels, transport equipment |
| Imports - partners | Germany 12.9%, Russia 9.3%, Italy 7.1%, France 6.4%, US 4.8%, China 4.6%, UK 4.4% (2004) |
| Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | $37.1 billion (2004 est.) |
| Debt - external | $16.9 billion (2004 est.) |
| Economic aid - recipient | ODA, $635.8 million (2002) |
| Currency (code) | Turkish lira (trL), New Turkish lira (YTL) after 1 January 2005 |
| Exchange rates | Turkish liras per US dollar - 1,425,500 (2004), 1,500,900 (2003), 1,507,200 (2002), 1,225,600 (2001), 625,200 (2000) Note: on 1 January 2005 the old Turkish Lira (trL)was converted to New Turkish Lira (YTL) at a rate of 1,000,000 old to 1 New Turkish Lira |
| Fiscal year | calendar year |
