Economy - overview:
Turkey's dynamic economy is a complex mix of modern industry and
commerce along with a traditional agriculture sector that in 2001
still accounted for 40% 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 most
important industry - and largest exporter - is textiles and
clothing, which is almost entirely in private hands. 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 account
for more than 50% of central government spending. Inflation, in
recent years in the high double-digit range, fell to 26% in 2003.
Perhaps because of these problems, foreign direct investment in
Turkey remains low - less than $1 billion annually. In late 2000 and
early 2001 a growing trade deficit and serious weaknesses in the
banking sector plunged the economy into crisis - forcing Turkey to
float the lira and pushing the country into recession. Results in
2002-03 were much better, because of strong financial support from
the IMF and tighter fiscal policy. Continued slow global growth and
serious political tensions in the Middle East could result in
negative growth in 2004.
GDP:
purchasing power parity - $489.7 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
7.8% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $7,300 (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 12.9%
industry: 30.4%
services: 56.7% (2001)
Population below poverty line:
NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.3%
highest 10%: 32.3% (1994)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
41.5 (1994)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
45.2% (2002 est.)
Labor force:
23.8 million
note: about 1.2 million Turks work abroad (2001 3rd quarter)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 39.7%, services 37.9%, industry 22.4% (3rd quarter,
2001)
Unemployment rate:
10.8% (plus underemployment of 6.1%) (2002 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $42.4 billion
expenditures: $69.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(2001)
Industries:
textiles, food processing, autos, mining (coal, chromite, copper,
boron), steel, petroleum, construction, lumber, paper
Industrial production growth rate:
8.5% (2002 est.)
Electricity - production:
116.6 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 79.3%
hydro: 20.4%
other: 0.3% (2001)
nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption:
112.6 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports:
433 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports:
4.579 billion kWh (2001)
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 (37257)
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 (37257)
Agriculture - products:
tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar beets, pulse, citrus;
livestock
Exports:
$35.1 billion f.o.b. (2002)
Exports - commodities:
apparel, foodstuffs, textiles, metal manufactures, transport
equipment
Exports - partners:
Germany 16.6%, US 9.2%, UK 8.5%, Italy 6.4%, France 6% (2002)
Imports:
$50.8 billion c.i.f. (2002 est.)
Imports - commodities:
machinery, chemicals, semi-finished goods, fuels, transport
equipment
Imports - partners:
Germany 13.7%, Italy 8.1%, Russia 7.6%, US 6%, France 5.9%, UK
4.8%, Switzerland 4.1% (2002)
Debt - external:
$118.3 billion (Yearend 2001)
Economic aid - recipient:
ODA, $300 million (2000)
Currency:
Turkish lira (TRL)
Currency code:
TRL
Exchange rates:
NA (2002), 1,225,590 (2001), 625,218 (2000), 418,783 (1999),
260,724 (1998), 151,865 (1997)
Fiscal year:
calendar year