Turkey's economy expands by 3.8 pct in first half of 2024
The Turkish economy grew by 2.5 percent in the second quarter of 2024, a slowdown from the 5.3 percent expansion in the first quarter. Overall, the economy expanded by 3.8 percent in the first half of the year, according to data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK).
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Turkey’s gross domestic product (GDP) for the second quarter of the year (April-June period) increased by 2.5 percent compared to the same quarter last year, according to the official data by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK).
The GDP growth rate was 5.3 percent in the first quarter of the year, marking a 3.8 percent increase in the first half of the year, Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek noted.
The Confederation of Revolutionary Trade Unions of Turkey Research Center (DİSK-AR) stated that the quarterly GDP growth rate declined from 7.6 percent in the second quarter of 2022 to 4.6 percent in the second quarter of 2023, and further to 2.5 percent in the second quarter of 2024.
The labor union underscored, “Economic policies that suppressed wages and purchasing power led to a serious slowdown in growth.”
“Parallel to the slowdown in growth, an increase in unemployment is very likely in the coming months,” the union added.
According to TUİK data, industrial sector, constituting 23% of the country's economy, contracted by -1.8 percent in the second quarter of 2024. A decline was not observed in other sectors.
GDP increased by 78.6% and reached 9.95 trillion Turkish liras at current prices. GDP realized 308.16 billion dollars in the second quarter of 2024, according to the official statistics institute.
Commenting on the growth data, Minister Şimşek stated, “We have left behind a difficult period in which we have significantly reduced vulnerabilities. Growth began to stabilize, the current account deficit narrowed, the risk premium decreased, foreign resource inflows increased, reserves improved and we entered a disinflation period.”
Independent annual GDP increases by 5.1% in 2023
In 2023, Turkey's GDP grew by 5.1% compared to the previous year, as reported by TÜİK.
The GDP, measured by production approach, reached 26.5 trillion liras at current prices, marking a 76.8% increase from the previous year.
The manufacturing industry had the largest share of 19.5%, followed by wholesale and retail trade, and transport and storage sectors.
The gross domestic product per capita was 311,109 Turkish lira (13,243 dollars) at current prices.