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Turkey – Important Facts

Turkey is a transcontinental country located in Southeastern Europe and Southwestern Asia bordering the Black Sea. Neighboring countries include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Iran, Iraq, and Syria. Turkey has a strategic location controlling the Turkish Straits that link the Black and Aegean Seas. The geography of Turkey consists of narrow coastal plains in the west that become increasingly rugged as they progress eastward. The government system is a republican parliamentary democracy; the chief of state is the president, and the head of government is the prime minister. Turkey has a mixed economy in which there is a growing private sector combined with centralized economic planning and government regulation.

After Turkey experienced a severe financial crisis in 2001, Ankara adopted financial and fiscal reforms as part of an IMF program. The reforms strengthened the country’s economic fundamentals and ushered in an era of strong growth averaging more than 6% annually until 2008. Global economic conditions and tighter fiscal policy caused GDP to contract in 2009, but Turkey’s well-regulated financial markets and banking system helped the country weather the global financial crisis, and GDP rebounded strongly to around 9% in 2010-11, as exports returned to normal levels following the crisis. Two rating agencies upgraded Turkey’s debt to investment grade in 2012 and 2013, and Turkey’s public sector debt to GDP ratio fell to 33% in 2014. The stock value of Foreign Direct Investment reached nearly $195 billion at yearend 2014.

Despite these positive trends, GDP growth dropped to 4.4% in 2013 and 2.9% in 2014. Growth slowed considerably in the last quarter of 2014, largely due to lackluster consumer demand both domestically and in Europe, Turkey’s most important export market. High interest rates have also contributed to the slowdown in growth, as Turkey sharply increased interest rates in January 2014 in order to strengthen the country’s currency and reduce inflation. Turkey then cut rates in February 2015 in a bid to spur economic growth.

Important Details

  • Country ISO3 : TUR
  • Country Code : 792
  • Income Group : Upper middle income
  • Lending Category : IBRD
  • Region : Europe & Central Asia
  • Currency Unit: New Turkish lira
  • WTO Member : Yes
  • Trade organisations : G-20 major economies, OECD, EU Customs Union, WTO, ECO, BSEC
  • world rank : 79
  • Regional Ranking : 34th in Europe