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Turkey's dynamic economy is a complex mix of modern industry and
commerce along with a traditional agriculture sector that in 2001
still accounted for 40% of employment. It has a strong and rapidly
growing private sector, yet the state still plays a major role in
basic industry, banking, transport, and communication. The largest
industrial sector is textiles and clothing, which accounts for
one-third of industrial employment; it faces stiff competition in
international markets with the end of the global quota system.
However, other sectors, notably the automotive and electonics
industries, are rising in importance within Turkey's export mix. In
recent years the economic situation has been marked by erratic
economic growth and serious imbalances. Real GNP growth has exceeded
6% in many years, but this strong expansion has been interrupted by
sharp declines in output in 1994, 1999, and 2001. Meanwhile, the
public sector fiscal deficit has regularly exceeded 10% of GDP - due
in large part to the huge burden of interest payments, which
accounted for more than 40% of central government spending in 2003.
Inflation, in recent years in the high double-digit range, fell to
11.3% in 2004. Perhaps because of these problems, foreign direct
investment in Turkey remains low - less than $1 billion annually.
Results in 2002-04 improved, because of strong financial support
from the IMF and tighter fiscal policy. A major political and
economic issue over the next decade is whether or not Turkey will
become a member of the EU.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $458.2 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
5.8% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $6,700 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 11.7%
industry: 29.8%
services: 58.5% (2003 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
15.5% of GDP (2003)

Population below poverty line:
18% (2001)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.3%
highest 10%: 32.3% (1994)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
44 (2002)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
25.3% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
23.79 million
note: about 1.2 million Turks work abroad (2003)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 39.7%, industry 22.4%, services 37.9% (3rd quarter,
2001)

Unemployment rate:
10.5% (plus underemployment of 6.1%) (2003 est.)

Budget:
rev