Türkiye becomes resilient against global shocks, President Erdoğan says

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated that the government has made the Turkish economy resilient against global shocks, noting that national income reaches $1.6 trillion and the unemployment rate drops to 8.1% despite global crises.

During an event at the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye’s headquarters in the capital Ankara, the president said the government elevated Türkiye to a higher league in every field over the past 23.5 years, building the economy on four pillars of production, employment, investment, and exports.

Erdoğan stressed that the country expanded its economy by 3.6% last year despite regional conflicts, driving the gross domestic product to $1.6 trillion and per capita income to $18,040.

The president noted that the foreign trade volume hit $820 billion while goods and services exports reached $396 billion, with a clear target to surpass $400 billion in the near future.

Erdoğan highlighted that April exports broke a record by rising 22.3% year-on-year to $25.4 billion, marking the second-highest monthly export revenue in the history of the republic.

The president added that annualized goods exports rose 4.2% to $275.8 billion in 2026, following an $88.6 billion export value recorded in the January-April period.

Erdoğan underlined that services exports increased 8.7 times since 2002 to reach $122.6 billion in 2025, which made Türkiye the sixth-largest service surplus-generating nation in the world.

The president noted that defense and aerospace exports exceeded $10 billion last year, highlighted by 182 agreements worth $8 billion signed at the SAHA 2026 defense expo.

Erdoğan stated that tourism revenues grew 4.2% in the first quarter of 2026 to $9.9 billion, following a successful year in 2025 when the country welcomed 64 million visitors and generated $65.2 billion.

The president emphasized that the unemployment rate dropped to 8.1% while total employment rose to 32.5 million people, maintaining a single-digit joblessness rate for 35 consecutive months.

Erdoğan revealed that international investors established 89,000 companies and invested $290 billion in Türkiye over the past 23 years, creating jobs for 1.2 million people and generating $70 billion in annual exports.

The president vowed to maintain strict inspections against opportunistic market pricing, urging business leaders to uphold the traditional values of fair trade.