Turkish economy grows 2.5 pct in first quarter of 2026

ANKARA

Türkiye’s economy expanded 2.5 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, official data showed Monday.

Gross domestic product (GDP), measured by the chain-linked volume index, grew 2.5 percent in the January-March period compared with the same quarter a year earlier, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat).

The growth rate slowed from 3.4 percent in the previous quarter and came in below market expectations of 2.7 percent.

At current prices, GDP rose 35.7 percent year-on-year to 16.99 trillion Turkish liras ($389.6 billion) in the first quarter.

Among economic sectors, information and communication recorded the strongest annual growth, with value added increasing 9.5 percent.

Other service activities grew 5.2 percent, followed by agriculture, forestry and fishing at 4.6 percent, trade, transportation, accommodation and food services at 3.7 percent, financial and insurance activities at 3.5 percent, and construction at 3.2 percent.

Real estate activities expanded 3 percent, while taxes less subsidies on products increased 2 percent. Professional, administrative and support service activities rose 1.9 percent, and public administration, education, human health, and social work activities increased 1.8 percent.

The industrial sector, however, contracted 0.8 percent during the period.

On the expenditure side, final consumption expenditure of resident households rose 4.8 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, while government final consumption expenditure increased 2.1 percent.

Gross fixed capital formation climbed 3 percent.

Exports of goods and services declined 12.7 percent year-on-year, while imports of goods and services fell 2 percent.