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 export - 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 in 2001 accounted for more than 50% of central government spending - while 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 Ankara 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 growth prospects for 2003.
GDP:
purchasing power parity - $468 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
4.2% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $7,000 (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 13%
industry: 30%
services: 57% (2001)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 32% (1994)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
42 (1994)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
45.2% (2002)
Labor force:
23.8 million (2001 3rd quarter)
note: about 1.2 million Turks work abroad (1999)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 40%, services 38%, industry 22% (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:
119.18 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 74%
hydro: 26%
other: 0% (2000)
nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption:
114.19 billion kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products:
tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar beets, pulse, citrus; livestock
Exports:
$37.6 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% (2001)
Imports:
$43.9 billion c.i.f. (2002 est.)
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% (2001 est.)
Currency:
Turkish lira (TRL)
Currency code:
TRL

Source of information: The World Factbook 2002 by CIA