Turkish economy jumps by almost 3pct

By Azernews

By Kamila Aliyeva

Total volume of Turkey’s GDP rose by 2.9 percent in 2016, says a report of the country’s Statistical Institute (TUIK) issued on March 31.

Taking into account the 2016 events – military coup attempt, terrorist attacks and political crises, the growth rate of GDP was forecasted at the level of 2.2 percent.

Total volume of Turkey’s GDP amounted to 2.59 trillion Turkish liras ($856.791 billion) in 2016, as compared to 2.337 trillion liras ($861.467 billion) in 2015.

In 2015, Turkey’s GDP growth rate was at the level of 6.1 percent. The GDP growth rate was 4.5 percent in 1Q2016, 5.3 percent – in 2Q2016, and the volume of value added production decreased by 1.3 percent in 3Q2016, and it rose again by 3.54 percent in 4Q2016.

The GDP per capita amounted to 32,676 Turkish liras or $10,807 in Turkey in 2016.

Earlier, Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Nurettin Canikli said that the country’s GDP growth rate will be at the level of about three percent , while Development Minister Lutfi Elvan expected the Turkish economy to increase by 2.5 percent in 2016.

The volume of Turkey's foreign trade decreased by 2.8 percent in 2016, compared with the previous year, reaching $341.2 billion, according to the Turkish Statistics Institute.

Last year, Turkey exported goods worth $142.6 billion, while imports amounted to $198.6 billion.

The leader in the Turkish export is Germany, which imported goods worth $14 billion last year. Germany is followed by the UK and Iraq, whose imported goods amount to $11.6 and $7.6 billion respectively.

The greatest decline was observed in the export of goods to Russia. It decreased by 51.7 percent and accounted for $1.733 billion.

Leading position in the Turkish import is taken by China, which exported goods worth $25.4 billion to Turkey in 2016. In the past year, Turkey has imported goods from Germany and Russia in the amount of $21.4 and $15.1 billion respectively.