According to the German news magazine Der Speigel, Turkey’s economic growth has overtaken that of China.
After a dip in growth due to the coup attempt in 2016, Turkey’s economy grew even faster in the past year than China’s. The Turkish economy grew in 2017 year on year by 7.4 percent, as the Turkish statistics office in Ankara announced in March 2018.
The value slightly exceeded analysts’ expectations. The year before, the retrospectively adjusted economic growth had been 3.2 percent. In China, growth in the world’s second-largest economy in 2017 was 6.9 percent year-on-year, according to official figures. In Germany, gross domestic product increased by 2.2 percent over the same period.
Despite the political tensions with Germany and other major trading partners, Turkey achieved strong growth last year. At the same time, however, Turkey is fighting high inflation and unemployment rates of more than 10 percent and a continued decline in the value of the local currency.
For the first time this week, more than four Turkish lira were bought for one dollar. Compared to the euro, the lira is close to an exchange rate of five to one. Turkey also has a large current account deficit.
Economics Minister Nihat Zeybekci welcomed the numbers and spoke of a “spectacular success”, with Turkey rising to the top of the G20 countries. London analyst Timothy Ash also said: “With growth of 7.4 percent, Turkey is clearly at the forefront of growth in Europe and in the same stratosphere as China or India.”
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