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Foreign trade figures of Türkiye

Foreign Trade in Figures

Turkey’s economy is open to foreign trade, which represents 81% of its GDP (World Bank, latest data available). Automobiles (8.5%% of total exports including passenger cars, transport vehicles and accessories for vehicles),  petroleum oils (5.2%), and iron and steel (1.7%) were the top exports in 2022, with machinery exports also being pivotal. The main imported products were gold (5.6%), petroleum oils (5.1%), ferrous waste (2.7%), col (2.3%), and motor cars (2.2% - data Comtrade). In 2022, micro enterprises with 1-9 employees, constituting 64.2% of exporter enterprises, accounted for 19.4% of total exports. Small enterprises (10-49 employees) contributed 18.9% to exports, medium-sized enterprises (50-249 employees) represented 19.4%, and large enterprises (250+ employees) held a share of 42.3% (Turkstat).

Germany (8.3% of all exports), the U.S. (6.6%), Iraq (5.4%), the United Kingdom (5.1%), and Italy (4.9%) were among the top destinations for Turkish exports. Russia (16.2%), China (11.4%), and Germany (6.6%) were the main suppliers of goods to Turkey, followed by Switzerland and the United States (4.2% each - data Comtrade). Turkey has 23 active free trade agreements (FTAs), including its very first trade deal with the European Economic Area in 1991 and the most recent one with the United Kingdom. The FTAs signed with Lebanon, Qatar, Sudan and Ukraine are under ratification process. At the same time, Turkey has pursued FTA negotiations with Japan, Thailand and Indonesia and will start renegotiating the terms of its existing agreements with Georgia, Malaysia and Moldova. Furthermore, the UAE and Turkey signed a joint statement on starting negotiations for a bilateral trade and investment deal.

Turkish trade structure has been characterised by a wide deficit, mainly due to energy imports. Also, as most of its exports are tied to imports of intermediate, semi-finished or raw products, the evolution of the trade balance has been traditionally linked to economic growth and the lira's value against the U.S. dollar. In 2022, Turkey's imports of goods totalled USD 363.7 billion, whereas the total value of its exported goods reached USD 254.2 billion (+34% and +12.8% year-on-year, respectively – data WTO). According to WTO, exports of services in 2022 were higher than imports, at USD 90.2 billion and USD 40.4 billion, respectively. Overall, the trade balance was negative by 4% of GDP (it stood at +0.4% one year earlier - World Bank). According to preliminary figures by Turkstat, in the first ten months of 2023, exports amounted to USD 209.9 billion (+0.2% year-on-year), while imports reached USD 303.8 billion (+1.1%). During the same period, an overall deficit of USD 93.9 billion was reported, showing an increase of 3.2% compared to the first ten months of 2022.

 
Foreign Trade Values 20192020202120222023
Imports of Goods (million USD) 210,345219,517271,426363,711361,774
Exports of Goods (million USD) 180,833169,638225,214254,170255,777
Imports of Services (million USD) 28,65723,88429,59640,41349,075
Exports of Services (million USD) 67,21738,24361,40890,285101,216

Source: World Trade Organisation (WTO) ; Latest available data

Foreign Trade Indicators 20182019202020212022
Foreign Trade (in % of GDP) 62.662.761.070.880.5
Trade Balance (million USD) -40,726-16,781-37,874-29,313-89,684
Trade Balance (Including Service) (million USD) -9,83821,779-23,5152,499-39,812
Imports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) -6.2-5.06.72.47.9
Exports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) 8.84.2-14.424.99.1
Imports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) 31.430.232.235.542.6
Exports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) 31.232.528.735.337.9

Source: World Bank ; Latest available data

Foreign Trade Forecasts 20232024 (e)2025 (e)2026 (e)2027 (e)
Volume of exports of goods and services (Annual % change) -4.86.80.80.61.7
Volume of imports of goods and services (Annual % change) 15.27.52.01.52.6

Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook ; Latest available data

Note: (e) Estimated Data

 
International Economic Cooperation
Turkey is a member of the following international economic organisations: G-20, WTO, IMF, Pacific Alliance (observer), OECD, ICC, among others. For the full list of economic and other international organisations in which participates Turkey click here. International organisation membership of Turkey is also outlined here.
Free Trade Agreements
The complete and up-to-date list of Free Trade Agreements signed by Turkey can be consulted here.
 

Main Partner Countries

Main Customers
(% of Exports)
2023
Germany 8.2%
United States 5.8%
Iraq 5.0%
United Kingdom 4.9%
Italy 4.8%
See More Countries 71.2%
Main Suppliers
(% of Imports)
2023
China 12.4%
Germany 7.9%
Switzerland 5.5%
United States 4.4%
Italy 4.1%
See More Countries 65.6%

Source: Comtrade, 2024. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.

 
 

Main Products

255.6 bn USD of products exported in 2023
Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous...Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals (excl. crude); preparations containing >= 70% by weight of petroleum oils or of oils obtained from bituminous minerals, these oils being the basic constituents of the preparations, n.e.s.; waste oils containing mainly petroleum or bituminous minerals 5.4%
Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally...Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons, incl. station wagons and racing cars (excl. motor vehicles of heading 8702) 4.5%
Articles of jewellery and parts thereof, of...Articles of jewellery and parts thereof, of precious metal or of metal clad with precious metal (excl. articles > 100 years old) 3.3%
Parts and accessories for tractors, motor vehicles...Parts and accessories for tractors, motor vehicles for the transport of ten or more persons, motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons, motor vehicles for the transport of goods and special purpose motor vehicles of heading 8701 to 8705, n.e.s. 2.8%
Motor vehicles for the transport of goods, incl....Motor vehicles for the transport of goods, incl. chassis with engine and cab 2.2%
See More Products 81.8%
362.0 bn USD of products imported in 2023
Gold, incl. gold plated with platinum, unwrought...Gold, incl. gold plated with platinum, unwrought or not further worked than semi-manufactured or in powder form 8.3%
Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous...Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals (excl. crude); preparations containing >= 70% by weight of petroleum oils or of oils obtained from bituminous minerals, these oils being the basic constituents of the preparations, n.e.s.; waste oils containing mainly petroleum or bituminous minerals 5.7%
Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally...Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons, incl. station wagons and racing cars (excl. motor vehicles of heading 8702) 5.0%
Ferrous waste and scrap; remelting scrap ingots of...Ferrous waste and scrap; remelting scrap ingots of iron or steel (excl. slag, scale and other waste from the production of iron or steel; radioactive waste and scrap; fragments of pigs, blocks or other primary forms of pig iron or spiegeleisen) 2.1%
Parts and accessories for tractors, motor vehicles...Parts and accessories for tractors, motor vehicles for the transport of ten or more persons, motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons, motor vehicles for the transport of goods and special purpose motor vehicles of heading 8701 to 8705, n.e.s. 2.0%
See More Products 76.9%

Source: Comtrade, 2024. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.

 
 

To go further, check out our service Import-Export Flows.

 

Main Services

Source: United Nations Statistics Division, 2024. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.

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Latest Update: July 2024