Türkiye's economy expands 3.7 percent in third quarter

ANKARA

The Turkish economy has grown by 3.7 percent year-on-year in the third quarter of this year, official data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) showed on Dec. 1.

Gross domestic product (GDP) at current prices surged 41.6 percent to 17.42 trillion Turkish liras ($409.6 billion) in July-September.

In the second quarter of 2025, the Turkish economy expanded by 4.9 percent year-on-year and by 2.5 percent in the first quarter.

“We anticipate that growth will remain moderate in the final quarter and exceed the Medium-Term Program slightly in 2025,” Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek said in a statement, commenting on the latest growth number. In the program, the government’s growth forecast for 2025 is 3.3 percent.

More favorable financial conditions and a supportive global environment are expected to drive stronger economic activity in 2026 compared with this year, Şimşek said.

“Moreover, we assess that growth will continue to support the decline in inflation,” he added.

In this quarter, when agriculture holds a significant weight in GDP, the contraction in agricultural value added due to frost and drought markedly constrained overall growth, while non-agricultural growth stood at 5.6 percent year-on-year, Şimşek said.

On a quarterly basis, Türkiye's GDP increased by 1.1 percent in the three months to September, down from 1.6 percent in the previous quarter.

In the third quarter of 2025, final consumption expenditure by resident households rose by 4.8 percent compared with the same period of the previous year. Government final consumption expenditure increased by 0.8 percent, while gross fixed capital formation surged by 11.7 percent.

Exports of goods and services declined by 0.7 percent year-on-year, whereas imports of goods and services advanced by 4.3 percent.

The agriculture sector contracted sharply, shrinking by 12.7 percent on an annual basis, following a 5.5 percent decline in the second quarter.

By contrast, industrial production strengthened, with annual growth edging up from 6 percent to 6.5 percent. Within industry, manufacturing output expanded by 7.7 percent year-on-year in the third quarter, after a 6.9 percent increase in the second quarter.

The construction sector also maintained robust momentum, accelerating from 11.1 percent growth in the second quarter to 13.9 percent in the third quarter.