Economy of Turkey
Encyclopedia
The economy
of Turkey
is defined as an emerging market economy by the IMF
and is largely developed
, making Turkey one of the world's newly industrialized countries. The country is among the world's leading producers of agricultural products; textiles; motor vehicles, ships and other transportation equipment; construction materials; consumer electronics and home appliances. In recent years, Turkey had a rapidly growing private sector
, yet the state still plays a major role in industry
, banking, transport
, and communication
s.
(1999). Since December 31, 1995, Turkey is also a part of the EU Customs Union. Mean graduate pay was $10.02 per manhour in 2010.
The CIA classifies Turkey as a developed country
. Turkey is often classified as a newly industrialized country by economists and political scientists; while Merrill Lynch
, the World Bank
and The Economist
magazine describe Turkey as an emerging market
economy.
The World Bank classifies Turkey as an upper-middle income country in terms of the country's per capita GDP in 2007.
According to a survey by Forbes
magazine, Istanbul
, Turkey's financial capital, had a total of 28 billionaires as of March 2010 (down from 34 in 2008), ranking 4th in the world behind New York City
(60 billionaires), Moscow
(50 billionaires), and London
(32 billionaires).
Nevertheless, The Economist points out that:
In 2009, the Turkish Government introduced various economic stimulus measures to reduce the impact of the financial crisis such as temporary tax cuts on automobiles, home appliances and housing. As a result, the production of durable consumer goods increased by 7.2%, despite a decrease in automotive production.
The Turkish Stock Market and credit rating agencies have responded positively. Share prices in Turkey nearly doubled over the course of 2009. According to The Economist
, in the period December 2008 - December 2009 the Turkish stockmarket rose the most in the world after Argentina's stockmarket. On 8 January 2010, International credit rating agency
Moody's
upgraded Turkey's rating with a notch. The credit rating agency Fitch
upgraded Turkey’s sovereign rating two notches to BB+. Turkey is one of the few countries that saw its rating upgraded by two notches.
As of March 2007, Turkey is the world's largest producer of hazelnut
, cherry
, fig
, apricot
, quince
and pomegranate
; the second largest producer of watermelon
, cucumber
and chickpea
; the third largest producer of tomato
, eggplant, green pepper, lentil
and pistachio
; the fourth largest producer of onion
and olive
; the fifth largest producer of sugar beet
; the sixth largest producer of tobacco
, tea
and apple
; the seventh largest producer of cotton
and barley
; the eighth largest producer of almond
; the ninth largest producer of wheat
, rye
and grapefruit
, and the tenth largest producer of lemon
. Turkey has been self-sufficient in food production since the 1980s. The agricultural output has been growing at a respectable rate. However, since the 1980s, agriculture has been in a state of decline in comparison to the total economy.
The country's large agricultural sector accounted for 29.5% of the employment in 2009. Historically, Turkey's farmers have been fairly fragmented. According to the 1990 Census, "85% of agricultural holdings were under 10 hectares and 57% of these were fragmented into four or more non-contiguous plots." Many old agricultural attitudes remain widespread, but these traditions are expected to change with the EU accession process. Turkey is dismantling the incentive system. Fertilizer and pesticide subsidies have been curtailed and remaining price supports have been gradually converted to floor prices. The government has also initiated many planned projects, such as the Southeastern Anatolia Project
(G.A.P project). The advent of the G.A.P promises a very prosperous future for the southeastern agriculture. The program includes 22 dams, 19 hydraulic power plants, and the irrigation of 1.82 million hectares of land. The total cost of the project is estimated at $32 billion. The total installed capacity of power plants is 7476 MW and projected annual energy production reaches 27 billion kWh.
The livestock industry, compared to the initial years of the Republic, showed little improvement in productivity, and the later years of the decade saw stagnation. However, livestock products, including meat, milk, wool, and eggs, contributed to more than ⅓ of the value of agricultural output. Fishing
is another important part of the economy; in 2005 Turkish fisheries
harvested 545,673 tons of fish
and aquaculture
.
, accounting for 21% of all TV sets manufactured and sold on the continent in 2007. By January 2005, Vestel and its rival Turkish electronics and white goods brand BEKO accounted for more than half of all TV sets manufactured in Europe. Another Turkish electronics brand, Profilo-Telra, was Europe's third largest TV producer in 2005. EU
market share of Turkish companies in consumer electronics
has increased significantly following the Customs Union agreement signed between the EU and Turkey: in color TVs from 5% in 1995 to more than 50% in 2005, in digital devices from 3% to 15%, and in white goods from 3% to 18%.
exports worth $13.98 billion in 2006; more than $10.67 billion of which (76.33%) were made to the EU member states.
Turkey has a large and growing automotive industry
, which produced 1,024,987 motor vehicle
s in 2006, ranking as the 7th largest automotive producer in Europe; behind Germany
(5,819,614), France
(3,174,260), Spain
(2,770,435), the United Kingdom
(1,648,388), Russia
(1,508,358) and Italy
(1,211,594), respectively.
In 2008 Turkey produced 1,147,110 motor vehicles, ranking as the 6th largest producer in Europe (behind the United Kingdom and above Italy) and the 15th largest producer in the world.
The automotive industry is an important part of the economy since the late 1960s. The companies that operate in the sector are mainly located in the Marmara Region
. With a cluster of car-makers and parts suppliers, the Turkish automotive sector has become an integral part of the global network of production bases, exporting over $22,944,000,000 worth of motor vehicles and components in 2008.
nations; in 2007 Turkish shipyards ranked 4th in the world (behind China, South Korea and Japan) in terms of the number of ordered ship
s, and also 4th in the world (behind Italy, USA and Canada) in terms of the number of ordered mega yachts
.
Turkey has many modern armament manufacturers. Annual exports reached $832 million in 2009. MKEK, TAI
, Aselsan
, Roketsan
, Fnss, Otokar
, and Havelsan
are major manufacturers. On July 11 2002, Turkey became a Level 3 partner of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) development program. TAI
builds various aircrafts such as F-16 Block 50+ for the TuAF. Turkey will build new military/intelligence satellites including a 0.8m resolution reconnaissance satellite (Project Göktürk-1) for use by the Turkish Armed Forces
and a 2m resolution reconnaissance satellite (Project Göktürk-2) for use by the Turkish National Intelligence Organization. Other important products are MİTÜP Altay, TF-2000 class frigates (anti-air warfare frigate), Milgem stealth warship, TAI Anka UAV
(Unmanned Aerial Vehicle), Aselsan İzci UGV (Unmanned Ground Vehicle), T-155 Fırtına
, J-600T missile
, T-129 ATAK
, UMTAS
, Roketsan Cirit, Panter Howitzer
, ACV-300, Otokar Cobra
and Akrep, FNSS Pars
, TOROS artillery rocket system, Bayraktar Mini UAV
, ASELPOD
.
is one of the leading, most competitive and dynamic construction/contracting industries in the world. In 2009 a total of 33 Turkish construction/contracting companies were selected for the Top International Contractors List prepared by the Engineering News-Record
, which made the Turkish construction/contracting industry the world's 2nd largest, ranking behind those of China.
As of 2009, there were 102 airports (90 with paved runways and 12 with unpaved runways) in Turkey, including the seven international airports in Istanbul
, Ankara
, İzmir
, Trabzon
, Dalaman
, Milas-Bodrum
and Antalya
. There were also 21 heliports in the country during the same year.
The rail network was 8,697 km in 2008, including 2,133 km of electrified track. The Turkish State Railways
started building high-speed rail
lines in 2003. The first line, which has a length of 533 km from Istanbul
(Turkey
's largest metropolis) via Eskişehir
to Ankara
(the capital) is under construction and will reduce the travelling time from 6–7 hours to 3 hours and 10 minutes. The Ankara
-Eskişehir
section of the line, which has a length of 245 km and a projected travel time of 65 minutes, is completed. Trials began on April 23, 2007, and revenue earning service began on March 13, 2009. The Eskişehir
-Istanbul
section of the line is scheduled to be completed by 2009, and includes the Marmaray tunnel which will enter service in 2012 and establish the first direct railway connection between Europe
and Anatolia
.
In 2006 the country had a roadway network of 426,951 km, including 1,987 km of expressways
, ranking 13th in the world.
As of 2010, the Turkish merchant marine included 1199 ships (604 registered at home), ranking 7th in the world. Turkey's coastline has 1,200 km of navigable waterways.
In 2008, 7555 kilometres (4,694.5 mi) of natural gas
pipelines and 3636 kilometres (2,259.3 mi) of petroleum
pipelines spanned the country's territory.
The telecommunications liberalisation process started in 2004 after the creation of the Telecommunication Authority, and is still ongoing. Private sector companies operate in mobile telephony, long distance telephony and Internet access. Additional digital exchanges are permitting a rapid increase in subscribers; the construction of a network of technologically advanced intercity trunk lines, using both fiber-optic cable and digital microwave radio relay, is facilitating communication between urban centers. The remote areas of the country are reached by a domestic satellite system, while the number of subscribers to mobile-cellular telephone service is growing rapidly.
The main line international telephone service is provided by the SEA-ME-WE-3 submarine cable and by submarine fiber-optic cables in the Mediterranean and Black Seas that link Turkey with Italy, Greece, Israel, Bulgaria, Romania, and Russia. In 2002, there were 12 Intelsat satellite earth stations; and 328 mobile satellite terminals in the Inmarsat and Eutelsat systems.
As of 2001, there were 16 AM, 107 FM, and 6 shortwave radio stations in the country.
As of 2008, there were 24,483,000 internet users in Turkey, which ranked 15th in the world; while as of 2009, there were 2,961,000 internet hosts in the country, which ranked 27th in the world.
Tourism is one of the most dynamic and fastest developing sectors in Turkey. According to travel agencies TUI AG
and Thomas Cook
, 11 of the 100 best hotels of the world are located in Turkey. In 2005, there were 24,124,501 visitors
to the country, who contributed $18.2 billion to Turkey's revenues, with an average expenditure of $679 per tourist. In 2008, the number of visitors rose to 30,929,192, who contributed $21.9 billion to Turkey's revenues. Over the years, Turkey has emerged as a popular tourist destination for many Europeans, competing with Greece
, Italy
and Spain
. Resorts in provinces such as Antalya
and Muğla
(which are located on the Turkish Riviera
) have become very popular among tourists.
(Türkiye Cumhuriyet Merkez Bankası) was founded in 1930, as a privileged joint-stock company. It possesses the sole right to issue notes. It also has the obligation to provide for the monetary requirements of the state agricultural and commercial enterprises. All foreign exchange transfers are exclusively handled by the central bank.
Originally established as the Ottoman Stock Exchange (Dersaadet Tahvilat Borsası) in 1866, and reorganized to its current structure at the beginning of 1986, the Istanbul Stock Exchange
(ISE) is the sole securities market
of Turkey. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, Bankalar Caddesi
(Banks Street) in Istanbul
was the financial center of the Ottoman Empire
, where the headquarters of the Ottoman Central Bank (established as the Bank-ı Osmanî in 1856, and later reorganized as the Bank-ı Osmanî-i Şahane in 1863) and the Ottoman Stock Exchange (1866) were located. Bankalar Caddesi continued to be Istanbul's main financial district until the 1990s, when most Turkish banks began moving their headquarters to the modern central business district
s of Levent
and Maslak
. In 1995, the Istanbul Stock Exchange moved to its current building in the Istinye
quarter. The Istanbul Gold Exchange was also established in 1995. The stock market capitalisation of listed companies in Turkey was valued at $161,537,000,000 in 2005 by the World Bank
.
Until 1991, establishing a private sector bank in Turkey wasn't easy and was subject to strict government controls and regulations. On 10 October 1991 (ten days before the general elections of 20 October 1991) the ANAP government of Prime Minister Mesut Yılmaz
gave special permissions to five prominent businessmen (who had close links to the government) to establish their own small-scale private banks. These were Kentbank (owned by Süzer); Park Yatırım Bankası (owned by Karamehmet); Toprakbank (owned by Toprak); Bank Ekspres (owned by Betil); and Alternatif Bank (owned by Doğan.) They were followed by other small-scale private banks established between 1994 and 1995, during the DYP government of Prime Minister Tansu Çiller
, who introduced drastic changes to the banking laws and regulations; which made it very easy to establish a bank in Turkey, but also opened many loopholes in the system. In 1998, there were 72 banks in Turkey; most of which were owned by construction companies that used them as financial assets for siphoning money into their other operations. As a result, in 1999 and 2001, the DSP government of Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit
had to face two major economic crises that were caused mostly by the weak and loosely regulated banking sector; the growing trade deficit; and the devastating İzmit earthquake of 17 August 1999. The Turkish lira
, which was pegged to the U.S. dollar prior to the crisis of 2001, had to be floated, and lost an important amount of its value. This financial breakdown reduced the number of banks to 31. Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit had to call the renowned economist Kemal Derviş
to tidy up the economy and especially the weak banking system so that a similar economic crisis would not happen again.
At present, the Turkish banking sector is among the strongest and most expansive in East Europe, the Middle East
and Central Asia
. During the past decade since 2001, the Turkish lira has also gained a considerable amount of value and maintained its stability, becoming an internationally exchangeable currency once again (in line with the inflation
that dropped to single-digit figures since 2003.) The economy grew at an average rate of 7.8% between 2002 and 2005. Fiscal deficit is benefiting (though in a small amount) from large industrial privatizations. Banking came under stress beginning in October 2008 as Turkish banking authorities warned state-run banks against the pullback of loans from the larger financial sectors. More than 34% of the assets in the Turkish banking sector are concentrated in the Agricultural Bank (Ziraat Bankası), Housing Bank (Yapı Kredi Bankası), Isbank (Türkiye İş Bankası) and Akbank. The five big state-owned banks were restructured in 2001. Political involvement was minimized and loaning policies were changed. There are also numerous international banks, which have branches in Turkey. A number of Arabian trading banks, which practice an Islamic banking
, are also present in the country.
Government regulations passed in 1929 required all insurance companies to reinsure 30% of each policy with the Millî Reasürans T.A.Ş. (National Reinsurance Corporation) which was founded on February 26, 1929. In 1954, life insurance was exempted from this requirement. The insurance market is officially regulated through the Ministry of Commerce.
After years of low levels of foreign direct investment
(FDI), in 2007 Turkey succeeded in attracting $21.9 billion in FDI and is expected to attract a higher figure in following years. A series of large privatizations, the stability fostered by the start of Turkey’s EU accession negotiations, strong and stable growth, and structural changes in the banking, retail, and telecommunications sectors have all contributed to the rise in foreign investment.
In recent years, the chronically high inflation has been brought under control and this has led to the launch of a new currency, the "New Turkish lira
", on January 1, 2005, to cement the acquisition of the economic reforms and erase the vestiges of an unstable economy. On January 1, 2009, the New Turkish lira was renamed once again as the "Turkish lira", with the introduction of new banknotes and coins.
list - an annual ranking of the top 2000 public companies in the world by Forbes magazine. The companies were:
Turkey is a very large source of foreign direct investment
in central
and eastern Europe
and the CIS
, with more than $1.5 billion invested. 32% has been invested in Russia
, primarily in the natural resources and construction sector, and 46% in Turkey’s Black Sea
neighbours, Bulgaria
and Romania
. Turkish companies also have sizable FDI stocks in Poland
, at about $100 million.
The construction and contracting companies
have been significant players, such as Enka
, Tekfen, Gama, and Üçgen İnşaat, as well as the three industrial groups, Anadolu Efes Group, ŞişeCam Group
and Vestel Group.
The exports reached $115.3 billion in 2007, but imports rose to $162.1 billion, mostly due to the rising demand for energy resources like natural gas and crude oil. Turkey targets exports of $200 billion in 2013, and a total trade of at least $450 billion. There has been a considerable shift in exports in the last two decades. Share of natural gas decreased from 74% in 1980 to 30% in 1990 and 12% in 2005. Share of mid and high technology products has increased from 5% in 1980 to 14% in 1990 and 43% in 2005.
The main trading partners are the European Union
, which accounted for 59% of exports and 52% of imports in 2005, the United States
, Russia
and Japan
. Turkey has taken advantage of a customs union with the European Union
, signed in 1995, to increase industrial production for exports, while benefiting from EU-origin foreign investment into the country.
salts and Turkey’s reserves amount to 72% of the world’s total. According to the CIA World Factbook, other natural resources include coal
, iron ore, copper
, chromium
, uranium
, antimony
, mercury
, gold
, barite
, borate
, celestine (strontium
), emery
, feldspar
, limestone
, magnesite
, marble
, perlite
, pumice
, pyrites (sulfur
), clay
, arable land
, hydropower
, and geothermal power
.
and natural gas
producer, but the level of production isn't large enough to make the country self-sufficient, which makes Turkey a net importer of both oil and gas. However, the recent discovery of new oil and natural gas fields in the country, particularly off the Black Sea
coast of northern Anatolia
; as well as in Eastern Thrace, the Gulf of İskenderun
and in the provinces of the Southeastern Anatolia Region
near the borders with Syria
and Iraq
; will help Turkey to reach a higher degree of self-sufficiency in energy production.
The pipeline network in Turkey included 1738 kilometres (1,079.9 mi) for crude oil, 2321 kilometres (1,442.2 mi) for petroleum products, and 708 kilometres (439.9 mi) for natural gas in 1999. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline
, the second longest oil pipeline in the world, was inaugurated on May 10, 2005. The pipeline delivers crude oil
from the Caspian Sea
basin to the port of Ceyhan
on Turkey's Mediterranean
coast, from where it is distributed with oil tankers to the world's markets. The planned Nabucco Pipeline
will also pass from Turkey and provide the European Union
member states with natural gas
from the Caspian Sea basin. The Blue Stream
, a major trans-Black Sea
gas pipeline, is operational since November 17, 2005, and delivers natural gas from Russia
to Turkey. The Tabriz–Ankara pipeline is a 2577 kilometres (1,601.3 mi) long natural gas pipeline, which runs from Tabriz
in northwestern Iran
to Ankara
in Turkey. The pipeline was commissioned on July 26, 2001. In Erzurum
, the South Caucasus Pipeline
, which was commissioned on May 21, 2006, is linked to the Iran-Turkey pipeline. In the future, these two pipelines will be among the main supply routes for the planned Nabucco Pipeline
from Turkey to Europe.
power plants. Nuclear power proposals were presented as early as in the 1960s , but plans were repeatedly canceled even after bids were made by interested manufacturers because of high costs and safety concerns. Turkey has always chosen Candu nuclear reactors because they burn natural uranium
which is cheap and available locally and because they can be refueled online. This has caused uneasy feelings among Turkey's neighbours because they are ideal for producing weapons-grade plutonium
. Turkey's first nuclear power plants are expected to be built in Mersin
's Akkuyu
district on the Mediterranean
coast; in Sinop
's İnceburun district on the Black Sea
coast; and in Kırklareli
's İğneada district on the Black Sea coast.
in the world.
energy programme, which has four key topics: enhancing energy security
,
convergence of member state energy market
s on the basis of EU internal energy market principles, supporting sustainable energy
development, and attracting investment
for energy projects of common and regional interest.
and Ankara
. The most pressing needs are for water treatment plants, waste water treatment facilities, solid waste management and conservation of biodiversity.
Economy
An economy consists of the economic system of a country or other area; the labor, capital and land resources; and the manufacturing, trade, distribution, and consumption of goods and services of that area...
of Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
is defined as an emerging market economy by the IMF
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
and is largely developed
CIA developed country list
In an appendix to the CIA's World Factbook, there is an entry identifying developed countries .The CIA notes that the Developed Countries formThe CIA argues that this list...
, making Turkey one of the world's newly industrialized countries. The country is among the world's leading producers of agricultural products; textiles; motor vehicles, ships and other transportation equipment; construction materials; consumer electronics and home appliances. In recent years, Turkey had a rapidly growing private sector
Private sector
In economics, the private sector is that part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is run by private individuals or groups, usually as a means of enterprise for profit, and is not controlled by the state...
, yet the state still plays a major role in industry
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
, banking, transport
Transport
Transport or transportation is the movement of people, cattle, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline, and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations...
, and communication
Communication
Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...
s.
Macro-economic trends
Turkey has the world's 15th largest GDP-PPP and 17th largest Nominal GDP. The country is a founding member of the OECD (1961) and one of the G-20 major economiesG-20 major economies
The Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors is a group of finance ministers and central bank governors from 20 major economies: 19 countries plus the European Union, which is represented by the President of the European Council and by the European Central Bank...
(1999). Since December 31, 1995, Turkey is also a part of the EU Customs Union. Mean graduate pay was $10.02 per manhour in 2010.
The CIA classifies Turkey as a developed country
CIA developed country list
In an appendix to the CIA's World Factbook, there is an entry identifying developed countries .The CIA notes that the Developed Countries formThe CIA argues that this list...
. Turkey is often classified as a newly industrialized country by economists and political scientists; while Merrill Lynch
Merrill Lynch
Merrill Lynch is the wealth management division of Bank of America. With over 15,000 financial advisors and $2.2 trillion in client assets it is the world's largest brokerage. Formerly known as Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., prior to 2009 the firm was publicly owned and traded on the New York...
, the World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
and The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
magazine describe Turkey as an emerging market
Emerging markets
Emerging markets are nations with social or business activity in the process of rapid growth and industrialization. Based on data from 2006, there are around 28 emerging markets in the world . The economies of China and India are considered to be the largest...
economy.
The World Bank classifies Turkey as an upper-middle income country in terms of the country's per capita GDP in 2007.
According to a survey by Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
magazine, Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, Turkey's financial capital, had a total of 28 billionaires as of March 2010 (down from 34 in 2008), ranking 4th in the world behind New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
(60 billionaires), Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
(50 billionaires), and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
(32 billionaires).
Effect of the Global Financial Crisis
Like many economies, the Turkish economy has been affected by the global financial crisis with its Finance Ministry reporting that Turkey's budget deficit swelled to 23.2 billion Turkish liras ($15 billion) in the first half of 2009, 13 times higher than a year earlier.Nevertheless, The Economist points out that:
Yet in many ways Turkey has weathered the credit crunch better than other emerging economies. Partly thanks to tough regulation, not a single Turkish bank has gone under. That is also because, unlike many Western banks, they have few toxic assets and limited mortgage exposure. So the government has not had to divert public money into rescuing banks reserving thus the public debt in a low level. Also the turkish banks have a high liquidity monitored in the credit ratings index of financial strength which is equal to this of the major european banks.
In 2009, the Turkish Government introduced various economic stimulus measures to reduce the impact of the financial crisis such as temporary tax cuts on automobiles, home appliances and housing. As a result, the production of durable consumer goods increased by 7.2%, despite a decrease in automotive production.
The Turkish Stock Market and credit rating agencies have responded positively. Share prices in Turkey nearly doubled over the course of 2009. According to The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
, in the period December 2008 - December 2009 the Turkish stockmarket rose the most in the world after Argentina's stockmarket. On 8 January 2010, International credit rating agency
Credit rating agency
A Credit rating agency is a company that assigns credit ratings for issuers of certain types of debt obligations as well as the debt instruments themselves...
Moody's
Moody's
Moody's Corporation is the holding company for Moody's Analytics and Moody's Investors Service, a credit rating agency which performs international financial research and analysis on commercial and government entities. The company also ranks the credit-worthiness of borrowers using a standardized...
upgraded Turkey's rating with a notch. The credit rating agency Fitch
Fitch Ratings
The Fitch Group is a majority-owned subsidiary of FIMALAC, headquartered in Paris. Fitch Ratings, Fitch Solutions and Algorithmics, are part of the Fitch Group....
upgraded Turkey’s sovereign rating two notches to BB+. Turkey is one of the few countries that saw its rating upgraded by two notches.
Agricultural sector
Hazelnut
A hazelnut is the nut of the hazel and is also known as a cob nut or filbert nut according to species. A cob is roughly spherical to oval, about 15–25 mm long and 10–15 mm in diameter, with an outer fibrous husk surrounding a smooth shell. A filbert is more elongated, being about twice...
, cherry
Cherry
The cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus Prunus, and is a fleshy stone fruit. The cherry fruits of commerce are usually obtained from a limited number of species, including especially cultivars of the wild cherry, Prunus avium....
, fig
Ficus
Ficus is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes, and hemiepiphyte in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending into the semi-warm temperate zone. The Common Fig Ficus is a genus of...
, apricot
Apricot
The apricot, Prunus armeniaca, is a species of Prunus, classified with the plum in the subgenus Prunus. The native range is somewhat uncertain due to its extensive prehistoric cultivation.- Description :...
, quince
Quince
The quince , or Cydonia oblonga, is the sole member of the genus Cydonia and native to warm-temperate southwest Asia in the Caucasus region...
and pomegranate
Pomegranate
The pomegranate , Punica granatum, is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub or small tree growing between five and eight meters tall.Native to the area of modern day Iran, the pomegranate has been cultivated in the Caucasus since ancient times. From there it spread to Asian areas such as the Caucasus as...
; the second largest producer of watermelon
Watermelon
Watermelon is a vine-like flowering plant originally from southern Africa. Its fruit, which is also called watermelon, is a special kind referred to by botanists as a pepo, a berry which has a thick rind and fleshy center...
, cucumber
Cucumber
The cucumber is a widely cultivated plant in the gourd family Cucurbitaceae, which includes squash, and in the same genus as the muskmelon. The plant is a creeping vine which bears cylindrical edible fruit when ripe. There are three main varieties of cucumber: "slicing", "pickling", and...
and chickpea
Chickpea
The chickpea is a legume of the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae...
; the third largest producer of tomato
Tomato
The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...
, eggplant, green pepper, lentil
Lentil
The lentil is an edible pulse. It is a bushy annual plant of the legume family, grown for its lens-shaped seeds...
and pistachio
Pistachio
The pistachio, Pistacia vera in the Anacardiaceae family, is a small tree originally from Persia , which now can also be found in regions of Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Greece, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, India, Pakistan, Egypt, Sicily and possibly Afghanistan , as well as in the United States,...
; the fourth largest producer of onion
Onion
The onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...
and olive
Olive
The olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...
; the fifth largest producer of sugar beet
Sugar beet
Sugar beet, a cultivated plant of Beta vulgaris, is a plant whose tuber contains a high concentration of sucrose. It is grown commercially for sugar production. Sugar beets and other B...
; the sixth largest producer of tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
, tea
Tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...
and apple
Apple
The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...
; the seventh largest producer of cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
and barley
Barley
Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
; the eighth largest producer of almond
Almond
The almond , is a species of tree native to the Middle East and South Asia. Almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree...
; the ninth largest producer of wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
, rye
Rye
Rye is a grass grown extensively as a grain and as a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe and is closely related to barley and wheat. Rye grain is used for flour, rye bread, rye beer, some whiskeys, some vodkas, and animal fodder...
and grapefruit
Grapefruit
The grapefruit , is a subtropical citrus tree known for its sour fruit, an 18th-century hybrid first bred in Barbados. When found, it was named the "forbidden fruit"; it has also been misidentified with the pomelo or shaddock , one of the parents of this hybrid, the other being sweet orange The...
, and the tenth largest producer of lemon
Lemon
The lemon is both a small evergreen tree native to Asia, and the tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit. The fruit is used for culinary and non-culinary purposes throughout the world – primarily for its juice, though the pulp and rind are also used, mainly in cooking and baking...
. Turkey has been self-sufficient in food production since the 1980s. The agricultural output has been growing at a respectable rate. However, since the 1980s, agriculture has been in a state of decline in comparison to the total economy.
The country's large agricultural sector accounted for 29.5% of the employment in 2009. Historically, Turkey's farmers have been fairly fragmented. According to the 1990 Census, "85% of agricultural holdings were under 10 hectares and 57% of these were fragmented into four or more non-contiguous plots." Many old agricultural attitudes remain widespread, but these traditions are expected to change with the EU accession process. Turkey is dismantling the incentive system. Fertilizer and pesticide subsidies have been curtailed and remaining price supports have been gradually converted to floor prices. The government has also initiated many planned projects, such as the Southeastern Anatolia Project
Southeastern Anatolia Project
The Southeastern Anatolia Project is a multi-sector integrated regional development project based on the concept of sustainable development for the 9 million people living in the Southeastern Anatolia region of Turkey...
(G.A.P project). The advent of the G.A.P promises a very prosperous future for the southeastern agriculture. The program includes 22 dams, 19 hydraulic power plants, and the irrigation of 1.82 million hectares of land. The total cost of the project is estimated at $32 billion. The total installed capacity of power plants is 7476 MW and projected annual energy production reaches 27 billion kWh.
The livestock industry, compared to the initial years of the Republic, showed little improvement in productivity, and the later years of the decade saw stagnation. However, livestock products, including meat, milk, wool, and eggs, contributed to more than ⅓ of the value of agricultural output. Fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
is another important part of the economy; in 2005 Turkish fisheries
Fishery
Generally, a fishery is an entity engaged in raising or harvesting fish which is determined by some authority to be a fishery. According to the FAO, a fishery is typically defined in terms of the "people involved, species or type of fish, area of water or seabed, method of fishing, class of boats,...
harvested 545,673 tons of fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
and aquaculture
Aquaculture
Aquaculture, also known as aquafarming, is the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic plants. Aquaculture involves cultivating freshwater and saltwater populations under controlled conditions, and can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is the...
.
Consumer electronics and home appliances
Turkey's Vestel Electronics is the largest TV producer in EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, accounting for 21% of all TV sets manufactured and sold on the continent in 2007. By January 2005, Vestel and its rival Turkish electronics and white goods brand BEKO accounted for more than half of all TV sets manufactured in Europe. Another Turkish electronics brand, Profilo-Telra, was Europe's third largest TV producer in 2005. EU
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
market share of Turkish companies in consumer electronics
Consumer electronics
Consumer electronics are electronic equipment intended for everyday use, most often in entertainment, communications and office productivity. Radio broadcasting in the early 20th century brought the first major consumer product, the broadcast receiver...
has increased significantly following the Customs Union agreement signed between the EU and Turkey: in color TVs from 5% in 1995 to more than 50% in 2005, in digital devices from 3% to 15%, and in white goods from 3% to 18%.
Textiles and clothing
Turkish companies made clothingClothing
Clothing refers to any covering for the human body that is worn. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic and is a feature of nearly all human societies...
exports worth $13.98 billion in 2006; more than $10.67 billion of which (76.33%) were made to the EU member states.
Motor vehicles and automotive products
Automotive industry
The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells motor vehicles, and is one of the world's most important economic sectors by revenue....
, which produced 1,024,987 motor vehicle
Motor vehicle
A motor vehicle or road vehicle is a self-propelled wheeled vehicle that does not operate on rails, such as trains or trolleys. The vehicle propulsion is provided by an engine or motor, usually by an internal combustion engine, or an electric motor, or some combination of the two, such as hybrid...
s in 2006, ranking as the 7th largest automotive producer in Europe; behind Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
(5,819,614), France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
(3,174,260), Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
(2,770,435), the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
(1,648,388), Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
(1,508,358) and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
(1,211,594), respectively.
In 2008 Turkey produced 1,147,110 motor vehicles, ranking as the 6th largest producer in Europe (behind the United Kingdom and above Italy) and the 15th largest producer in the world.
The automotive industry is an important part of the economy since the late 1960s. The companies that operate in the sector are mainly located in the Marmara Region
Marmara Region
The Marmara Region , with a surface area of 67.000 km², is the smallest but most densely populated of the seven geographical regions of Turkey...
. With a cluster of car-makers and parts suppliers, the Turkish automotive sector has become an integral part of the global network of production bases, exporting over $22,944,000,000 worth of motor vehicles and components in 2008.
Shipbuilding
Turkey is also one of the leading shipbuildingShipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history.Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both...
nations; in 2007 Turkish shipyards ranked 4th in the world (behind China, South Korea and Japan) in terms of the number of ordered ship
Ship
Since the end of the age of sail a ship has been any large buoyant marine vessel. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and cargo or passenger capacity. Ships are used on lakes, seas, and rivers for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing,...
s, and also 4th in the world (behind Italy, USA and Canada) in terms of the number of ordered mega yachts
Luxury yacht
The term luxury yacht, “Superyacht” and "Large Yacht" refers to very expensive, privately owned yachts which are professionally crewed. Also known as a Super Yacht, a luxury yacht may be either a sailing or motor yacht.-History:...
.
Arms industry
Turkish Aerospace Industries
Turkish Aerospace Industries, Inc. is the center of technology in design, development, manufacturing, integration of aerospace systems, modernization and after sales support in Turkey....
, Aselsan
Aselsan
Aselsan is a Turkish corporation which produces tactical military radios and defense electronic systems for the Turkish Army.- History :...
, Roketsan
Roketsan
Roketsan is a major Turkish weapons manufacturer and defense contractor based in the central Anatolian province of Ankara. Incorporated in 1988 by Turkey's Defense Industry Executive Committee in order to establish the nation's industrial base on rocket technology, the company has quickly risen to...
, Fnss, Otokar
Otokar
Otokar, a sub-division of Koç Holding, is a Turkish manufacturer of buses and military vehicles headquartered in Sakarya, Turkey.-History:Otokar began business in 1963 as Turkey's first intercity bus manufacturing company under the license of Magirus Deutz of Istanbul. Otokar was noted for...
, and Havelsan
Havelsan
Havelsan is a Turkish software and systems company having business presence in the defence and IT sectors. It is headquartered in Ankara, Turkey, with subsidiary companies and offices around Turkey and abroad...
are major manufacturers. On July 11 2002, Turkey became a Level 3 partner of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) development program. TAI
Turkish Aerospace Industries
Turkish Aerospace Industries, Inc. is the center of technology in design, development, manufacturing, integration of aerospace systems, modernization and after sales support in Turkey....
builds various aircrafts such as F-16 Block 50+ for the TuAF. Turkey will build new military/intelligence satellites including a 0.8m resolution reconnaissance satellite (Project Göktürk-1) for use by the Turkish Armed Forces
Turkish Armed Forces
The Turkish Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of Turkey. They consist of the Army, the Navy , and the Air Force...
and a 2m resolution reconnaissance satellite (Project Göktürk-2) for use by the Turkish National Intelligence Organization. Other important products are MİTÜP Altay, TF-2000 class frigates (anti-air warfare frigate), Milgem stealth warship, TAI Anka UAV
Unmanned aerial vehicle
An unmanned aerial vehicle , also known as a unmanned aircraft system , remotely piloted aircraft or unmanned aircraft, is a machine which functions either by the remote control of a navigator or pilot or autonomously, that is, as a self-directing entity...
(Unmanned Aerial Vehicle), Aselsan İzci UGV (Unmanned Ground Vehicle), T-155 Fırtına
T-155 Firtina
T-155 Fırtına is the Turkish variant of the K9 Thunder 155mm self-propelled howitzer by Samsung Techwin.Though essentially using the main systems of the K9 howitzer, including the South Korean designed 155/52 caliber gun system, majority of the chassis, automatic ammunition feeding mechanism, and...
, J-600T missile
J-600T missile
Project J is a Turkish Armed Forces program intended to develop a series of tactical and theatre ballistic missiles with a range of 150 to 300 km....
, T-129 ATAK
TAI/AgustaWestland T-129
The TAI/AgustaWestland T-129 is an attack helicopter currently under development for the Turkish Army...
, UMTAS
UMTAS
UMTAS is a long range air-to-surface anti-tank missile developed by Turkish armor and missile manufacturer Roketsan.-Background:...
, Roketsan Cirit, Panter Howitzer
Panter Howitzer
The Panter Howitzer was developed by MKEK for Turkish Land Forces Command. It has a 155 mm/52-calibre towed howitzer gun. It is able to fire projectiles to a maximum range of 40 kilometers using extended range ammunition...
, ACV-300, Otokar Cobra
Otokar Cobra
The Cobra is a wheeled armoured vehicle developed by Turkish firm Otokar, using some components from the American HMMWV. It was first delivered to the Turkish Army in 1997 and most recently, won a contract from a buyer for APV and 4X4 unarmored tactical vehicles.-Survivability:The monocoque steel...
and Akrep, FNSS Pars
FNSS Pars
The Pars is an amphibious armoured personnel carrier family with 6×6, and 8×8 versions, produced by of Turkey. Pars 6x6 is being proposed to the Turkish Army and in 2006 the 8x8 vehicle was tested by the Malaysian Army against the Swiss Piranha IIIC and the Finnish Patria AMV, in 2010 FNSS...
, TOROS artillery rocket system, Bayraktar Mini UAV
Bayraktar Mini UAV
The Bayraktar Mini UAV is an unmanned aerial vehicle produced by Turkey's Baykar Makine. The system is designed for aerial reconnaissance and surveillance activities to serve Turkish Land Forces' small units and is currently operational on the field.-Overview:...
, ASELPOD
ASELPOD
The ASELPOD is a targeting and navigation pod developed by ASELSAN of Turkey for use by the Turkish Air Force. It is similar in design to the LITENING III. The ASELPOD greatly increases the combat effectiveness of combat aircraft, allowing them to fly at very low altitudes, at night and under bad...
.
Construction and contracting sector
The Turkish construction and contracting industryTurkish Construction/Contracting Industry
The Turkish Construction and Contracting Industry is one of the leading industries in Turkey. A total of 33 Turkish construction/contracting companies were selected for the Top International Contractors List prepared by the Engineering News-Record in 2009; which made the Turkish...
is one of the leading, most competitive and dynamic construction/contracting industries in the world. In 2009 a total of 33 Turkish construction/contracting companies were selected for the Top International Contractors List prepared by the Engineering News-Record
Engineering News-Record
Engineering News-Record is a weekly magazine that provides news, analysis, data and opinion for the construction industry worldwide...
, which made the Turkish construction/contracting industry the world's 2nd largest, ranking behind those of China.
Transport
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
, İzmir
Izmir
Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
, Trabzon
Trabzon
Trabzon is a city on the Black Sea coast of north-eastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. Trabzon, located on the historical Silk Road, became a melting pot of religions, languages and culture for centuries and a trade gateway to Iran in the southeast and the Caucasus to the northeast...
, Dalaman
Dalaman
Dalaman is a district, as well as the central town of that district, situated on the southwestern coast of Turkey, in the Muğla Province.Dalaman Stream forms much of the western border of the district, where its neighbors are Köyceğiz and Ortaca districts...
, Milas-Bodrum
Milas-Bodrum Airport
Milas-Bodrum Airport is an international airport that serves the Turkish towns of Bodrum and Milas. The airport is situated 36km northeast of the town of Bodrum, and 16km south of Milas. A spacious new international terminal was completed in 2000....
and Antalya
Antalya
Antalya is a city on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey. With a population 1,001,318 as of 2010. It is the eighth most populous city in Turkey and country's biggest international sea resort.- History :...
. There were also 21 heliports in the country during the same year.
The rail network was 8,697 km in 2008, including 2,133 km of electrified track. The Turkish State Railways
Turkish State Railways
The State Railways of the Turkish Republic or TCDD is the government owned, national railway carrier in the Republic of Turkey, headquartered in Ankara...
started building high-speed rail
High-speed rail in Turkey
The Turkish State Railways started building high-speed rail lines in 2003. The first section of the line, between Ankara and Eskişehir, was inaugurated on March 13, 2009...
lines in 2003. The first line, which has a length of 533 km from Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
(Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
's largest metropolis) via Eskişehir
Eskisehir
Eskişehir is a city in northwestern Turkey and the capital of the Eskişehir Province. According to the 2009 census, the population of the city is 631,905. The city is located on the banks of the Porsuk River, 792 m above sea level, where it overlooks the fertile Phrygian Valley. In the nearby...
to Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
(the capital) is under construction and will reduce the travelling time from 6–7 hours to 3 hours and 10 minutes. The Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
-Eskişehir
Eskisehir
Eskişehir is a city in northwestern Turkey and the capital of the Eskişehir Province. According to the 2009 census, the population of the city is 631,905. The city is located on the banks of the Porsuk River, 792 m above sea level, where it overlooks the fertile Phrygian Valley. In the nearby...
section of the line, which has a length of 245 km and a projected travel time of 65 minutes, is completed. Trials began on April 23, 2007, and revenue earning service began on March 13, 2009. The Eskişehir
Eskisehir
Eskişehir is a city in northwestern Turkey and the capital of the Eskişehir Province. According to the 2009 census, the population of the city is 631,905. The city is located on the banks of the Porsuk River, 792 m above sea level, where it overlooks the fertile Phrygian Valley. In the nearby...
-Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
section of the line is scheduled to be completed by 2009, and includes the Marmaray tunnel which will enter service in 2012 and establish the first direct railway connection between Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
.
In 2006 the country had a roadway network of 426,951 km, including 1,987 km of expressways
Limited-access road
A limited-access road known by various terms worldwide, including limited-access highway, dual-carriageway and expressway, is a highway or arterial road for high-speed traffic which has many or most characteristics of a controlled-access highway , including limited or no access to adjacent...
, ranking 13th in the world.
As of 2010, the Turkish merchant marine included 1199 ships (604 registered at home), ranking 7th in the world. Turkey's coastline has 1,200 km of navigable waterways.
In 2008, 7555 kilometres (4,694.5 mi) of natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
pipelines and 3636 kilometres (2,259.3 mi) of petroleum
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
pipelines spanned the country's territory.
Communications
As of 2008, there were 17,502,000 operational main line telephones in Turkey, which ranked 18th in the world; while there were 65,824,000 registered cell phones in the country, which ranked 15th in the world during the same year.The telecommunications liberalisation process started in 2004 after the creation of the Telecommunication Authority, and is still ongoing. Private sector companies operate in mobile telephony, long distance telephony and Internet access. Additional digital exchanges are permitting a rapid increase in subscribers; the construction of a network of technologically advanced intercity trunk lines, using both fiber-optic cable and digital microwave radio relay, is facilitating communication between urban centers. The remote areas of the country are reached by a domestic satellite system, while the number of subscribers to mobile-cellular telephone service is growing rapidly.
The main line international telephone service is provided by the SEA-ME-WE-3 submarine cable and by submarine fiber-optic cables in the Mediterranean and Black Seas that link Turkey with Italy, Greece, Israel, Bulgaria, Romania, and Russia. In 2002, there were 12 Intelsat satellite earth stations; and 328 mobile satellite terminals in the Inmarsat and Eutelsat systems.
As of 2001, there were 16 AM, 107 FM, and 6 shortwave radio stations in the country.
As of 2008, there were 24,483,000 internet users in Turkey, which ranked 15th in the world; while as of 2009, there were 2,961,000 internet hosts in the country, which ranked 27th in the world.
Tourism sector
TUI AG
TUI AG is a German multinational travel and tourism company headquartered in Hanover. Until 2001 it was an industrial and transportation company named Preussag AG, which in the mid-1990s decided to reinvent itself as a tourism, shipping, and logistics company...
and Thomas Cook
Thomas Cook
Thomas Cook of Melbourne, Derbyshire, England founded the travel agency that is now Thomas Cook Group.- Early days :...
, 11 of the 100 best hotels of the world are located in Turkey. In 2005, there were 24,124,501 visitors
Tourism in Turkey
Tourism in Turkey is focused largely on a variety of historical sites, and on seaside resorts along its Aegean and Mediterranean Sea coasts. In the recent years, Turkey has also become a popular destination for culture, spa, and health care tourism...
to the country, who contributed $18.2 billion to Turkey's revenues, with an average expenditure of $679 per tourist. In 2008, the number of visitors rose to 30,929,192, who contributed $21.9 billion to Turkey's revenues. Over the years, Turkey has emerged as a popular tourist destination for many Europeans, competing with Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. Resorts in provinces such as Antalya
Antalya Province
Antalya Province is located on the Mediterranean coast of south-west Turkey, between the Taurus Mountains and the Mediterranean sea.Antalya Province is the centre of Turkey's tourism industry, attracting 30% of foreign tourists visiting Turkey. The province of Antalya corresponds to the lands of...
and Muğla
Mugla Province
Muğla Province is a province of Turkey, at the country's south-western corner, on the Aegean Sea. Its seat is Muğla, about inland, while some of Turkey's largest holiday resorts, such as Bodrum, Ölüdeniz, Marmaris and Fethiye, are on the coast in Muğla....
(which are located on the Turkish Riviera
Turkish Riviera
The Turkish Riviera is a term used to define an area of southwest Turkey encompassing Antalya, Muğla and to a lesser extent the provinces of Aydın, southern İzmir and western Mersin...
) have become very popular among tourists.
Financial sector
The Central Bank of the Republic of TurkeyCentral Bank of the Republic of Turkey
The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey is the central bank of Turkey and is founded as a joint stock company with the exclusive right to issue banknotes in Turkey. The preparations to establish a central bank began in 1926, but organization was established on 3 October 1931 and opened...
(Türkiye Cumhuriyet Merkez Bankası) was founded in 1930, as a privileged joint-stock company. It possesses the sole right to issue notes. It also has the obligation to provide for the monetary requirements of the state agricultural and commercial enterprises. All foreign exchange transfers are exclusively handled by the central bank.
Originally established as the Ottoman Stock Exchange (Dersaadet Tahvilat Borsası) in 1866, and reorganized to its current structure at the beginning of 1986, the Istanbul Stock Exchange
Istanbul Stock Exchange
The Istanbul Stock Exchange is the only corporation in Turkey for securities exchange established to provide trading in equities, bonds and bills, revenue-sharing certificates, private sector bonds, foreign securities and real estate certificates as well as international securities. The ISE was...
(ISE) is the sole securities market
Capital market
A capital market is a market for securities , where business enterprises and governments can raise long-term funds. It is defined as a market in which money is provided for periods longer than a year, as the raising of short-term funds takes place on other markets...
of Turkey. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, Bankalar Caddesi
Bankalar Caddesi
Bankalar Caddesi , alternatively known as the Voyvoda Caddesi , located in the historic Galata quarter within the district of Beyoğlu in Istanbul, Turkey, was the financial center of the Ottoman Empire...
(Banks Street) in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
was the financial center of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, where the headquarters of the Ottoman Central Bank (established as the Bank-ı Osmanî in 1856, and later reorganized as the Bank-ı Osmanî-i Şahane in 1863) and the Ottoman Stock Exchange (1866) were located. Bankalar Caddesi continued to be Istanbul's main financial district until the 1990s, when most Turkish banks began moving their headquarters to the modern central business district
Central business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
s of Levent
Levent
Levent is a neighbourhood and one of the main business districts of Istanbul, Turkey, located on the European side of the city. It is a part of the municipality of Beşiktaş which is situated to the north of the Golden Horn, at the western shore of the Bosporus strait.Levent is in direct...
and Maslak
Maslak
Maslak is a neighbourhood and one of the main business districts of Istanbul, Turkey, located on the European side of the city. It is an exclave of the municipality of Şişli, though being far north and actually closer to the municipalities of Beşiktaş and Sarıyer.Maslak is in direct competition...
. In 1995, the Istanbul Stock Exchange moved to its current building in the Istinye
Istinye
İstinye is a neighbourhood in Istanbul, on the European side of the city. It is located between Emirgan and Yeniköy on the northwestern shore of the Bosporus, within the borough of Sarıyer. It is one of the finest seashore locations on the Bosporus where people walk around during the weekends....
quarter. The Istanbul Gold Exchange was also established in 1995. The stock market capitalisation of listed companies in Turkey was valued at $161,537,000,000 in 2005 by the World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
.
Mesut Yilmaz
Ahmet Mesut Yılmaz is the former leader of the Motherland Party and was the Turkish prime minister in the 1990s.Mesut Yılmaz was a rising star in the Motherland Party of Turgut Özal, representing the Black Sea province of Rize in the parliament and serving as tourism minister in Ozal's cabinet...
gave special permissions to five prominent businessmen (who had close links to the government) to establish their own small-scale private banks. These were Kentbank (owned by Süzer); Park Yatırım Bankası (owned by Karamehmet); Toprakbank (owned by Toprak); Bank Ekspres (owned by Betil); and Alternatif Bank (owned by Doğan.) They were followed by other small-scale private banks established between 1994 and 1995, during the DYP government of Prime Minister Tansu Çiller
Tansu Çiller
Tansu Penbe Çiller is a Turkish economist and politician. She was Turkey's first and only female Prime Minister.- Early career :She is the daughter of a Turkish governor of Bilecik province during the 1950s. She graduated from the School of Economics at Robert College after finishing the American...
, who introduced drastic changes to the banking laws and regulations; which made it very easy to establish a bank in Turkey, but also opened many loopholes in the system. In 1998, there were 72 banks in Turkey; most of which were owned by construction companies that used them as financial assets for siphoning money into their other operations. As a result, in 1999 and 2001, the DSP government of Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit
Bülent Ecevit
Mustafa Bülent Ecevit was a Turkish politician, poet, writer and journalist, who was the leader of Republican People's Party , later of the Democratic Left Party and four-time Prime Minister of Turkey.- Personal life :...
had to face two major economic crises that were caused mostly by the weak and loosely regulated banking sector; the growing trade deficit; and the devastating İzmit earthquake of 17 August 1999. The Turkish lira
Turkish lira
The Turkish lira is the currency of Turkey and the de facto independent state of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The lira is subdivided into 100 kuruş...
, which was pegged to the U.S. dollar prior to the crisis of 2001, had to be floated, and lost an important amount of its value. This financial breakdown reduced the number of banks to 31. Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit had to call the renowned economist Kemal Derviş
Kemal Dervis
Kemal Derviş is a Turkish economist and politician, and former head of the United Nations Development Programme. He was honored by the government of Japan for having "contributed to mainstreaming Japan's development assistance policy through the United Nations." In 2005, he was ranked 67th in the...
to tidy up the economy and especially the weak banking system so that a similar economic crisis would not happen again.
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
. During the past decade since 2001, the Turkish lira has also gained a considerable amount of value and maintained its stability, becoming an internationally exchangeable currency once again (in line with the inflation
Inflation
In economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a...
that dropped to single-digit figures since 2003.) The economy grew at an average rate of 7.8% between 2002 and 2005. Fiscal deficit is benefiting (though in a small amount) from large industrial privatizations. Banking came under stress beginning in October 2008 as Turkish banking authorities warned state-run banks against the pullback of loans from the larger financial sectors. More than 34% of the assets in the Turkish banking sector are concentrated in the Agricultural Bank (Ziraat Bankası), Housing Bank (Yapı Kredi Bankası), Isbank (Türkiye İş Bankası) and Akbank. The five big state-owned banks were restructured in 2001. Political involvement was minimized and loaning policies were changed. There are also numerous international banks, which have branches in Turkey. A number of Arabian trading banks, which practice an Islamic banking
Islamic banking
Islamic banking is banking or banking activity that is consistent with the principles of Islamic law and its practical application through the development of Islamic economics. Sharia prohibits the fixed or floating payment or acceptance of specific interest or fees for loans of money...
, are also present in the country.
Government regulations passed in 1929 required all insurance companies to reinsure 30% of each policy with the Millî Reasürans T.A.Ş. (National Reinsurance Corporation) which was founded on February 26, 1929. In 1954, life insurance was exempted from this requirement. The insurance market is officially regulated through the Ministry of Commerce.
After years of low levels of foreign direct investment
Foreign direct investment
Foreign direct investment or foreign investment refers to the net inflows of investment to acquire a lasting management interest in an enterprise operating in an economy other than that of the investor.. It is the sum of equity capital,other long-term capital, and short-term capital as shown in...
(FDI), in 2007 Turkey succeeded in attracting $21.9 billion in FDI and is expected to attract a higher figure in following years. A series of large privatizations, the stability fostered by the start of Turkey’s EU accession negotiations, strong and stable growth, and structural changes in the banking, retail, and telecommunications sectors have all contributed to the rise in foreign investment.
In recent years, the chronically high inflation has been brought under control and this has led to the launch of a new currency, the "New Turkish lira
Turkish lira
The Turkish lira is the currency of Turkey and the de facto independent state of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The lira is subdivided into 100 kuruş...
", on January 1, 2005, to cement the acquisition of the economic reforms and erase the vestiges of an unstable economy. On January 1, 2009, the New Turkish lira was renamed once again as the "Turkish lira", with the introduction of new banknotes and coins.
Largest companies
In 2010, 12 Turkish companies were listed in the Forbes Global 2000Forbes Global 2000
The Forbes Global 2000 is an annual ranking of the top 2000 public companies in the world by Forbes magazine. The ranking is based on a mix of four metrics: sales, profit, assets and market value...
list - an annual ranking of the top 2000 public companies in the world by Forbes magazine. The companies were:
| World Rank | Company | 274 | Garanti Bankası | Banking | 9.75 | 2.06 | 77.02 | 16.06 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 288 | Türkiye İş Bankası Türkiye Is Bankasi Türkiye İş Bankası is Turkey's first public bank and premiere national financial institution, ranked 102nd in the “Top 1000 World Banks” survey of Financial Times' The Banker and 371st in the Forbes Global 2000 lists as of 2008, with a Gross Profit for the Year 2006 TRY 2,540 million and USD 6.8... |
Banking | 10.97 | 1.61 | 86.34 | 12.60 | |||
| 321 | Koç Holding Koç Holding Koç Holding A.Ş. is the top industrial conglomeratein Turkey. The Koç family, one of Turkey's wealthiest families, controls the company with its headquarter in Nakkaştepe, Istanbul... |
Conglomerate | 36.34 | 1.32 | 41.80 | 7.45 | |||
| 343 | Akbank Akbank Akbank is Turkey-based bank and was founded in Adana, Turkey on January 1948, originally to provide financing for the cotton producers in the Çukurova region. Growing and developing over time, the Bank opened its first branch in Istanbul in the district of Sirkeci on July 14, 1950, moving its... |
Banking | 8.06 | 1.16 | 60.23 | 15.75 | |||
| 414 | Sabancı Holding Sabanci Holding Hacı Ömer Sabancı Holding A.Ş., abbreviated as Sabancı Holding, is the largest industrial and financial conglomerate in Turkey by profit. The holding is owned at about 75% by the Sabancı family, one of Turkey's wealthiest. 3% is owned by the Sabancı University and the Sabancı Foundation. The... |
Conglomerate | 12.93 | 0.78 | 65.24 | 7.33 | |||
| 534 | Halk Bankası Halk Bankasi Halk Bankası , or Halkbank, is a Turkish state-owned bank. Established in 1938, it initially lent money indirectly through "popular funds", before being authorized in 1950 to open branches and lend money directly. Today it is the 7th-largest bank in Turkey in terms of assets.-External links:*... |
Banking | 5.76 | 1.05 | 33.17 | 8.10 | |||
| 609 | Vakıfbank VakifBank VakıfBank is the fifth largest bank in Turkey with its $46 billion in assets as of December 31, 2009. The company offers some of the largest services in Turkey, and operates 610 branches domestically... |
Banking | 6.25 | 0.81 | 35.48 | 5.93 | |||
| 666 | Turk Telekom Türk Telekom Türk Telekom is the formerly state owned Turkish telecommunications company. Türk Telekom was being separated from the Post Office in 1995. In November 2005 it was privatized to Oger Telecom.... |
Telecommunications | 6.82 | 1.18 | 8.97 | 11.25 | |||
| 683 | Turkcell Turkcell Turkcell is the leading mobile phone operator of Turkey, based in Istanbul. The company has 34.1 million subscribers as of June 30th, 2011.- Company background :... |
Telecommunications | 5.89 | 1.55 | 8.00 | 13.19 | |||
| 934 | Enka İnşaat | Construction | 5.87 | 0.50 | 7.63 | 7.29 | |||
| 1507 | Turkish Airlines Turkish Airlines Turkish Airlines is the national flag carrier airline of Turkey, headquartered in the Turkish Airlines General Management Building on the grounds of Atatürk Airport in Yeşilköy, Bakirköy district, Istanbul... |
Transportation | 4.00 | 0.74 | 5.10 | 2.87 | |||
| 1872 | Doğan Holding Dogan Holding Doğan Holding is one of the top industrial conglomerates in Turkey operating in the energy, media, industry, trade, insurance and tourism industries... |
Conglomerate | 8.17 | 0.05 | 6.80 | 1.68 |
External trade and investment
Foreign direct investment
Foreign direct investment or foreign investment refers to the net inflows of investment to acquire a lasting management interest in an enterprise operating in an economy other than that of the investor.. It is the sum of equity capital,other long-term capital, and short-term capital as shown in...
in central
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
and eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
and the CIS
Commonwealth of Independent States
The Commonwealth of Independent States is a regional organization whose participating countries are former Soviet Republics, formed during the breakup of the Soviet Union....
, with more than $1.5 billion invested. 32% has been invested in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, primarily in the natural resources and construction sector, and 46% in Turkey’s Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
neighbours, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
and Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
. Turkish companies also have sizable FDI stocks in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, at about $100 million.
The construction and contracting companies
Turkish Construction/Contracting Industry
The Turkish Construction and Contracting Industry is one of the leading industries in Turkey. A total of 33 Turkish construction/contracting companies were selected for the Top International Contractors List prepared by the Engineering News-Record in 2009; which made the Turkish...
have been significant players, such as Enka
Enka Insaat ve Sanayi A.S.
Enka İnşaat ve Sanayi A.Ş. is a Turkish construction conglomerate based in Istanbul. Enka has 37 subsidiaries engaged in a diverse range of construction activities including power generation, airports, petroleum, and roadways...
, Tekfen, Gama, and Üçgen İnşaat, as well as the three industrial groups, Anadolu Efes Group, ŞişeCam Group
Şişecam
Şişecam Group is an industrial group with the main activity fields of glass and chemicals production. The group is in a leading position in business lines covering all basic fields of glass such as float glass, glass household articles, glass packaging and glass fiber as well as soda and chromium...
and Vestel Group.
The exports reached $115.3 billion in 2007, but imports rose to $162.1 billion, mostly due to the rising demand for energy resources like natural gas and crude oil. Turkey targets exports of $200 billion in 2013, and a total trade of at least $450 billion. There has been a considerable shift in exports in the last two decades. Share of natural gas decreased from 74% in 1980 to 30% in 1990 and 12% in 2005. Share of mid and high technology products has increased from 5% in 1980 to 14% in 1990 and 43% in 2005.
The main trading partners are the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, which accounted for 59% of exports and 52% of imports in 2005, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Turkey has taken advantage of a customs union with the European Union
European Union-Turkey Customs Union
On 31 December 1995 the customs union between Turkey and the European Union came into effect. Goods can travel between the two entities without any customs restrictions. The Customs Union does not cover essential economic areas, such as agriculture, to which bilateral trade concessions apply,...
, signed in 1995, to increase industrial production for exports, while benefiting from EU-origin foreign investment into the country.
Minerals
Turkey is the tenth ranked producer of minerals in the world in terms of diversity. Around 60 different minerals are currently produced in Turkey. The richest mineral deposits in the country are boronBoron
Boron is the chemical element with atomic number 5 and the chemical symbol B. Boron is a metalloid. Because boron is not produced by stellar nucleosynthesis, it is a low-abundance element in both the solar system and the Earth's crust. However, boron is concentrated on Earth by the...
salts and Turkey’s reserves amount to 72% of the world’s total. According to the CIA World Factbook, other natural resources include coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
, iron ore, copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
, chromium
Chromium
Chromium is a chemical element which has the symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in Group 6. It is a steely-gray, lustrous, hard metal that takes a high polish and has a high melting point. It is also odorless, tasteless, and malleable...
, uranium
Uranium
Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...
, antimony
Antimony
Antimony is a toxic chemical element with the symbol Sb and an atomic number of 51. A lustrous grey metalloid, it is found in nature mainly as the sulfide mineral stibnite...
, mercury
Mercury (element)
Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...
, gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
, barite
Barite
Baryte, or barite, is a mineral consisting of barium sulfate. The baryte group consists of baryte, celestine, anglesite and anhydrite. Baryte itself is generally white or colorless, and is the main source of barium...
, borate
Borate
Borates are chemical compounds which contain oxoanions of boron in oxidation state +3. The simplest borate ion, BO33−, has a trigonal planar structure. Other borates are made up of trigonal BO3 or tetrahedral BO4 structural units, sharing oxygen atoms...
, celestine (strontium
Strontium
Strontium is a chemical element with the symbol Sr and the atomic number 38. An alkaline earth metal, strontium is a soft silver-white or yellowish metallic element that is highly reactive chemically. The metal turns yellow when exposed to air. It occurs naturally in the minerals celestine and...
), emery
Emery (mineral)
Emery is a very hard rock type used to make abrasive powder. It largely consists of the mineral corundum , mixed with other species such as the iron-bearing spinels hercynite and magnetite, and also rutile...
, feldspar
Feldspar
Feldspars are a group of rock-forming tectosilicate minerals which make up as much as 60% of the Earth's crust....
, limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
, magnesite
Magnesite
Magnesite is magnesium carbonate, MgCO3. Iron substitutes for magnesium with a complete solution series with siderite, FeCO3. Calcium, manganese, cobalt, and nickel may also occur in small amounts...
, marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
, perlite
Perlite
Perlite is an amorphous volcanic glass that has a relatively high water content, typically formed by the hydration of obsidian. It occurs naturally and has the unusual property of greatly expanding when heated sufficiently...
, pumice
Pumice
Pumice is a textural term for a volcanic rock that is a solidified frothy lava typically created when super-heated, highly pressurized rock is violently ejected from a volcano. It can be formed when lava and water are mixed. This unusual formation is due to the simultaneous actions of rapid...
, pyrites (sulfur
Sulfur
Sulfur or sulphur is the chemical element with atomic number 16. In the periodic table it is represented by the symbol S. It is an abundant, multivalent non-metal. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with chemical formula S8. Elemental sulfur is a bright yellow...
), clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
, arable land
Arable land
In geography and agriculture, arable land is land that can be used for growing crops. It includes all land under temporary crops , temporary meadows for mowing or pasture, land under market and kitchen gardens and land temporarily fallow...
, hydropower
Hydropower
Hydropower, hydraulic power, hydrokinetic power or water power is power that is derived from the force or energy of falling water, which may be harnessed for useful purposes. Since ancient times, hydropower has been used for irrigation and the operation of various mechanical devices, such as...
, and geothermal power
Geothermal power in Turkey
In 2010 the installed geothermal electricity generation capacity was 100 MWe while direct use installations were approximately 795 MWt.As of 2005, Turkey had the 5th highest direct usage and capacity of geothermal energy in the world. Turkey's capacity as of 2005 is 1495 MWt with a usage of...
.
Petroleum and natural gas
Turkey is an oilPetroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
and natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
producer, but the level of production isn't large enough to make the country self-sufficient, which makes Turkey a net importer of both oil and gas. However, the recent discovery of new oil and natural gas fields in the country, particularly off the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
coast of northern Anatolia
Black Sea Region
The Black Sea Region is one of Turkey's seven census-defined geographical regions . It is bordered by the Marmara Region to the west, the Central Anatolia Region to the south, the Eastern Anatolia Region to the southeast, the Republic of Georgia to the northeast, and the Black Sea to the north.-...
; as well as in Eastern Thrace, the Gulf of İskenderun
Gulf of Iskenderun
The Gulf of İskenderun is a gulf or inlet of the Levantine Sea, the easternmost part of Mediterranean Sea, of which it forms the easternmost tip, on the southern coast of Turkey near its border with Syria. It also contains the northernmost point of the Levantine Sea...
and in the provinces of the Southeastern Anatolia Region
Southeastern Anatolia Region
Southeastern Anatolia Region is one of Turkey's seven census-defined geographical regions . It is bordered by the Mediterranean Region to the west, the Eastern Anatolia Region to the north, Syria to the south, and Iraq to the southeast.-Provinces:...
near the borders with Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
and Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
; will help Turkey to reach a higher degree of self-sufficiency in energy production.
The pipeline network in Turkey included 1738 kilometres (1,079.9 mi) for crude oil, 2321 kilometres (1,442.2 mi) for petroleum products, and 708 kilometres (439.9 mi) for natural gas in 1999. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline
The Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline is a long crude oil pipeline from the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli oil field in the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. It connects Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan; Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia; and Ceyhan, a port on the south-eastern Mediterranean coast of Turkey,...
, the second longest oil pipeline in the world, was inaugurated on May 10, 2005. The pipeline delivers crude oil
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
from the Caspian Sea
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...
basin to the port of Ceyhan
Ceyhan
Ceyhan is a city in southeast Turkey and with 105,000 inhabitants it is the second largest city of Adana Province after the capital Adana. Ceyhan is the transportation hub for Middle Eastern, Central Asian and Russian oil and natural gas. It is situated on the Ceyhan River, from which it takes...
on Turkey's Mediterranean
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
coast, from where it is distributed with oil tankers to the world's markets. The planned Nabucco Pipeline
Nabucco Pipeline
The Nabucco pipeline is a proposed natural gas pipeline from Erzurum in Turkey to Baumgarten an der March in Austria diversifying natural gas suppliers and delivery routes for Europe. The pipeline attempts to lessen European dependence on Russian energy...
will also pass from Turkey and provide the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
member states with natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
from the Caspian Sea basin. The Blue Stream
Blue Stream
Blue Stream is a major trans-Black Sea gas pipeline that carries natural gas from Russia into Turkey. The pipeline has been constructed by the Blue Stream Pipeline B.V., the Netherlands based joint venture of Russian Gazprom and Italian Eni. The Blue Stream Pipeline B.V...
, a major trans-Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
gas pipeline, is operational since November 17, 2005, and delivers natural gas from Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
to Turkey. The Tabriz–Ankara pipeline is a 2577 kilometres (1,601.3 mi) long natural gas pipeline, which runs from Tabriz
Tabriz
Tabriz is the fourth largest city and one of the historical capitals of Iran and the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. Situated at an altitude of 1,350 meters at the junction of the Quri River and Aji River, it was the second largest city in Iran until the late 1960s, one of its former...
in northwestern Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
to Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
in Turkey. The pipeline was commissioned on July 26, 2001. In Erzurum
Erzurum
Erzurum is a city in Turkey. It is the largest city, the capital of Erzurum Province. The city is situated 1757 meters above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 361,235 in the 2000 census. .Erzurum, known as "The Rock" in NATO code, served as NATO's southeastern-most air force post during the...
, the South Caucasus Pipeline
South Caucasus Pipeline
South Caucasus Pipeline is a natural gas pipeline to transport natural gas from the Shah Deniz gas field in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea to Turkey...
, which was commissioned on May 21, 2006, is linked to the Iran-Turkey pipeline. In the future, these two pipelines will be among the main supply routes for the planned Nabucco Pipeline
Nabucco Pipeline
The Nabucco pipeline is a proposed natural gas pipeline from Erzurum in Turkey to Baumgarten an der March in Austria diversifying natural gas suppliers and delivery routes for Europe. The pipeline attempts to lessen European dependence on Russian energy...
from Turkey to Europe.
Nuclear energy
To cover the increasing energy needs of its population and ensure the continued raising of its living standard, Turkey plans several nuclearNuclear reactor
A nuclear reactor is a device to initiate and control a sustained nuclear chain reaction. Most commonly they are used for generating electricity and for the propulsion of ships. Usually heat from nuclear fission is passed to a working fluid , which runs through turbines that power either ship's...
power plants. Nuclear power proposals were presented as early as in the 1960s , but plans were repeatedly canceled even after bids were made by interested manufacturers because of high costs and safety concerns. Turkey has always chosen Candu nuclear reactors because they burn natural uranium
Uranium
Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...
which is cheap and available locally and because they can be refueled online. This has caused uneasy feelings among Turkey's neighbours because they are ideal for producing weapons-grade plutonium
Plutonium
Plutonium is a transuranic radioactive chemical element with the chemical symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, forming a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four oxidation...
. Turkey's first nuclear power plants are expected to be built in Mersin
Mersin
-Mersin today:Today, Mersin is a large city spreading out along the coast, with Turkey's second tallest skyscraper , huge hotels, an opera house, expensive real estate near the sea or up in the hills, and many other modern urban...
's Akkuyu
Büyükeceli
- Geography :Büyükeceli had been founded on the southern slopes of Toros Mountains at . It is near to Mediterranean coast and recent housing of the town is almost at the side side. It is a part of Gülnar district which in turn is a part of Mersin Province. It is on the Mersin Antalya highway. The...
district on the Mediterranean
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
coast; in Sinop
Sinop, Turkey
Sinop is a city with a population of 36,734 on İnce Burun , by its Cape Sinop which is situated on the most northern edge of the Turkish side of Black Sea coast, in the ancient region of Paphlagonia, in modern-day northern Turkey, historically known as Sinope...
's İnceburun district on the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
coast; and in Kırklareli
Kirklareli
Kırklareli is the capital of Kırklareli Province in Eastern Thrace, on the European part of Turkey. The province has a coastline on the Black Sea. There is a Jewish community.-Name:It is not clearly known when the city was founded, nor under what name...
's İğneada district on the Black Sea coast.
Geothermal energy
Turkey has the fifth highest direct utilization and capacity of geothermal powerGeothermal power in Turkey
In 2010 the installed geothermal electricity generation capacity was 100 MWe while direct use installations were approximately 795 MWt.As of 2005, Turkey had the 5th highest direct usage and capacity of geothermal energy in the world. Turkey's capacity as of 2005 is 1495 MWt with a usage of...
in the world.
Energy security
Turkey is a partner country of the EU INOGATEINOGATE
INOGATE is an international energy co-operation programme between the European Union , Turkey and countries of the NIS, with the exceptions of the Baltic States and the Russian Federation. Formally it describes itself as supporting "international cooperation between the European Union, the...
energy programme, which has four key topics: enhancing energy security
Energy security
Energy security is a term for an association between national security and the availability of natural resources for energy consumption. Access to cheap energy has become essential to the functioning of modern economies. However, the uneven distribution of energy supplies among countries has led...
,
convergence of member state energy market
Energy market
Energy markets are those commodities markets that deal specifically with the trade and supply of energy. Energy market may refer to an electricity market, but can also refer to other sources of energy...
s on the basis of EU internal energy market principles, supporting sustainable energy
Sustainable energy
Sustainable energy is the provision of energy that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Sustainable energy sources include all renewable energy sources, such as hydroelectricity, solar energy, wind energy, wave power, geothermal...
development, and attracting investment
Investment
Investment has different meanings in finance and economics. Finance investment is putting money into something with the expectation of gain, that upon thorough analysis, has a high degree of security for the principal amount, as well as security of return, within an expected period of time...
for energy projects of common and regional interest.
Environment
With the establishment of the Turkish Environment Ministry on August 9, 1991 (which later merged with the Ministry of Forestry on May 1, 2003, and became the Ministry of Environment and Forestry) Turkey began to make significant progress addressing some of its most pressing environmental problems. The most dramatic improvements were significant reductions of air pollution in IstanbulIstanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
and Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
. The most pressing needs are for water treatment plants, waste water treatment facilities, solid waste management and conservation of biodiversity.