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 has remained in the high double-digit range. 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 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 cast a shadow over prospects for 2003.
GDP:
purchasing power parity - $468 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
7.8% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $7,000 (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)
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% (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 (January 2002 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
8.685 billion cu m (January 2002 est.)
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 17.2%, US 10.0%, Italy 7.5%, UK 6.9%, France 6.0%, Russia 2.9% (2000)
Imports:
$50.8 billion c.i.f. (2002)
Imports - commodities:
machinery, chemicals, semi-finished goods, fuels, transport equipment
Imports - partners:
Germany 12.9%, Italy 8.4%, Russia 8.3%, US 7.9%, France 5.5%, UK 4.6% (2000)
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
NOTE: The information regarding Turkey on this page is re-published from the 2003 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Guinea Geography 2003 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Turkey Economy 2003 should be addressed to the CIA.
