Türkiye’s economy has completely transformed in the 22 years since Recep Tayyip Erdogan was elected – first as premier, later as president – as its gross domestic product (GDP) soared at an annual real rate of 5.3 percent, hitting an all-time high of $1.37 trillion in the second quarter of 2025.
Türkiye’s GDP was $238 billion in 2002 – a year before Erdogan took office – and it rose over the $1 trillion milestone for the first time in 2024, according to a Trade Ministry statement.
Erdogan’s $390 billion export target is also expected to be reached by the end of this year, while the country’s national income is set to rise to $1.4 trillion.
“Türkiye … has become one of the fastest-growing economies in the OECD over the past decade,” the statement said. “The International Monetary Fund raised its growth forecast to 3 percent in its July report for Türkiye, while our uninterrupted growth for 19 consecutive quarters continues amid global crises.”
The ministry said Türkiye’s national income per capita rose from $3,608 in 2002 to $15,971 at the end of the first quarter of 2025.
Meanwhile, Türkiye’s annual current account deficit fell from $55.1 billion in May 2023 to $10 billion at the end of 2024, as the country’s goods and services exports totalled $377 billion — the highest figure since the republic was founded in 1923.
This January-July, Turkish exports reached $156.4 billion, $67.8 billion of which was exported to the EU – up 8.5 percent. Germany, the UK, the US, Italy, and Iraq made up the largest recipients of Turkish exports in the first six months of the year.
At the same time, Türkiye’s trade surplus reached $62 billion in the services sector last year, becoming the country with the fifth-highest service surplus in the world.
“Some 115 high-level contacts and 37 global meetings were held, while new initiatives in trade cooperation and investments continue with the Organisation of Turkic States, the EU, the African Union, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the OECD, and Balkan countries,” the statement said.
Türkiye has also implemented its Distant Countries Strategy framework to boost exports to far-flung countries to $50 billion by 2028, while the Increasing Exports to Organisation of Islamic Cooperation countries initiative is expected to boost the share of exports to OIC member states in Türkiye’s total exports to 30 percent.
