Türkiye’s economy grows 2.5% in Q1 2026

Gross domestic product (GDP), measured by the chain-linked volume index, grew 2.5% 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% in the previous quarter and came in below market expectations of 2.7%. At current prices, GDP rose 35.7% 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%. Other service activities grew 5.2%, followed by agriculture, forestry and fishing at 4.6%, trade, transportation, accommodation and food services at 3.7%, financial and insurance activities at 3.5%, and construction at 3.2%. Real estate activities expanded 3%, while taxes less subsidies on products increased 2%. Professional, administrative and support service activities rose 1.9%, and public administration, education, human health, and social work activities increased 1.8%. The industrial sector, however, contracted 0.8% during the period. On the expenditure side, final consumption expenditure of resident households rose 4.8% year-on-year in the first quarter, while government final consumption expenditure increased 2.1%. Gross fixed capital formation climbed 3%. Exports of goods and services declined 12.7% year-on-year, while imports of goods and services fell 2%. Earlier, it was reported that Türkiye is projected to achieve a strong grain harvest in 2026 due to favorable temperature trends, rainfall distribution in May and continued low drought risks.