1/4/2025–|Last updated: 1/4/202509:16 PM (Mecca time)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that the country’s exports would reach a record high in the history of the Republic during the year 2024, at $262 billion. This came in a speech during an event held in Istanbul, on Friday, regarding the volume of exports during the year 2024.
President Erdogan explained that the Turkish economy grew by 2.1% in the third quarter of 2024, recording continuous, uninterrupted growth over 17 quarters.
He said that the Turkish economy reached a growth rate of 3.2% during the first 9 months of 2024.
He stated that the size of the Turkish economy increased from one trillion and 130 billion dollars in 2023, to one trillion and 260 billion dollars in annual terms in the third quarter of 2024.
President Erdogan expected Turkey’s per capita income to exceed $15,000 in 2024 and $17,000 in 2025.
He continued: “We aim to reach a growth rate of 4% during the year 2025, supported by net exports and fixed capital investments.”
The Turkish President explained that employment data showed an increase of 1.31 million people last year.
He pointed out that the total number of workers reached 32 million and 970 thousand people by October 2024, recording the highest level in the country’s history.
He stressed that the unemployment rate in Türkiye fell between January and October 2024, to its lowest level in the last 23 years, with an average of 8.8%.
He stressed that the inflation data for 2024 announced by the Turkish Statistics Authority confirms the correctness of the implemented policies.
Earlier on Friday, the Turkish Statistics Authority announced that the inflation rate in December 2024 fell to 44.38% on an annual basis.
Erdogan indicated that the value of Turkish exports increased by 2.2% during December 2024, reaching $23.5 billion, a record high for that month.
He added: “We broke a record in the history of the Republic for exports over the year (2024), as they increased by 2.5% compared to 2023, and reached 262 billion dollars.”
He confirmed a decrease in the foreign trade deficit in 2024 by $24 billion, down from $106.3 billion in 2023 to $82.2 billion in 2024.
He revealed that the first three countries that emerged in terms of increasing the value of Turkey’s exports in 2024 are the United Kingdom with an increase of 22.2%, the United States with 9.9%, and Saudi Arabia with 52%.
Erdogan added: “During 2024, our exports to the European Union increased by 4.2% to reach $108.7 billion.”
Türkiye’s exports to Organization of Islamic Cooperation countries also increased by 6.1% last year, reaching $70.1 billion, according to data announced by Erdogan.
He said that Turkish exports to the countries of the Turkic States Organization, last year, increased by 12.9% to reach 11.1 billion dollars.
