TURKEY COUNTRY PROFILE
Key Facts
Location; Nestling in south eastern Europe and south western Asia, Turkey borders the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Georgia, and the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, between Greece and Syria.
Capital city: Ankara
Total Area: 783,562 sq km
Population: 76,805,524 (July 2009 est.)
Currency: Turkish Lira
GDP: $902.7bn (2008 est.)
GDP Growth rate: 1.1 per cent (2008 est.)
Languages: Turkish (official), Arabic, English widely understood
Ethnic make-up: Turkish 70-75 per cent, Kurdish 18 per cent, other minorities 7-12 per cent
Religions: Muslim 99.8 per cent (mostly Sunni), other 0.2 per cent
Introduction
The Turkish economy is a mix of modern industry and commerce with a traditional agriculture sector that accounts for about 30 per cent of employment. There is a strong and growing private sector, yet the state remains a major participant in basic industry, banking, transport, and communication. As a sector, textiles and clothing accounts for one-third of industrial employment and is the largest industrial sector, however, it faces stiff competition in international markets with the end of the global quota system. Other sectors, notably automotive and electronics, are rising in importance. Real GNP growth has exceeded 6 per cent in many years, but this has been interrupted by sharp declines in output in 1994, 1999, and 2001. The economy turned around with the introduction of economic reforms, and 2004 GDP growth reached 9 per cent, followed by roughly 5 per cent annual growth from 2005-07.
Investment climate and opportunities
Turkey is a significant trading partner of the UK. This is an emerging market with a population of more than 70 million, half of which is under the age of 28. Exports of UK goods to Turkey were £2.5bn in 2008.
A rapidly developing country, Turkey is seeking to modernise its economy. Turkey’s fast expanding economy, political and economic stability, and possibility of EU membership have attracted many UK investors and exporters in a broad range of sectors.
One of the most important sectors for the next decade will be energy. Electricity demand in Turkey is growing at 8 per cent a year, and Turkey needs to quickly add to its capacity to meet the requirements of a growing population. UK suppliers and service companies are encouraged to investigate the sector as it relates also to electricity and gas distribution, power generation and the rapidly growing renewable energy industry. It is also anticipated that there will be key developments in the nuclear sector, and progressive UK firms are already watching closely for bilateral agreements and new legislation, as well as forthcoming projects.
Key sectors for exports
The environment
Water
Financial services
ICT
Construction
Shipbuilding and ports
Airports
Education and training
Telecommunications
Security
Sectors up-close
Medical products and services
Turkey’s population of more than 70 million makes it a rapidly growing market for medical products and services. More than 60 per cent of government health expenditures are devoted to medical services; medical devices constitute a smaller portion of the overall health expenditure budget. Health services are provided by public and private hospitals, with around 40 per cent of in-patient and 56 per cent of outpatient expenses financed by public sources. There is a current move towards the privatisation of Turkey's health sector - although a large percentage of total hospital bed capacity is still provided by the government. Many private hospitals are currently being built which offers foreign suppliers increased sales opportunities and less complicated procurement requirements compared to the more complex tender requirements of government agencies.
Turkey also has many specialised private care facilities providing cardiovascular care, OBGYN, orthopedics and outpatient ambulatory procedures. Various private hospitals are procuring angio-cath, radiological equipment and surgical and life support technologies.
IT
Turkey’s total ICT industry is estimated at $23.80bn. The introduction of ADSL by Turkish Telecom is providing internet speeds up to 50 times faster than normal dial up speeds used by small businesses and households and has increased dramatically e-commerce transactions. Presently, there are more than million ADSL broadband subscribers, bringing new opportunities for hardware and software sales. The Turkish IT market has experienced double-digit growth over the past five years. The IT hardware market was estimated at $2.64bn for 2007, with around 2.6 million PC’s being sold, half in notebook form.
For exporters seeking to gauge market receptivity, exhibitions and conferences are great launch vehicles where IT products are concerned. Once market interest is determined and confirmed, the UK exporter and, where appropriate, its local partner, can look at packaging products to meet the needs of the Turkish consumer.
Renewable energies
Turkish passed laws in 2005 which require retail companies to buy 8 per cent of their electricity procurement from renewable energy generation companies. Moreover, renewable energy will play a key role in Turkey's preparations for accession to the EU. Turkish businesses are showing great interest in the renewable energy type of power generation. These businesses are seeking technologies, equipment, financing and partners to implement hydroelectric, wind, geothermal, solar and biomass power plant projects. The private sector is set to invest in 2000-3000 MW wind power projects in the next 3-5 years in Turkey. The Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (MENR) has developed the wind energy atlas of Turkey including information on the transmission lines and substation availability in those locations. This study showed Turkey has at least 48,000 MW of wind energy potential. Recently, EMRA collected license applications for wind power, and the private sector made a huge number of applications. Most of these companies will require wind turbines and towers and will also be seeking for potential partners and financing.
