Turkish economy grew by 2.3% year-on-year during the second quarter of 2026, according to official data published on 31 August by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK). At the same time, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose by 0.5 percentage points compared with the previous month, reaching 8.1% in July.
Gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 1.1% compared with the previous quarter, after adjustment for seasonal and calendar effects, according to the report by TÜİK. Agriculture, forestry and fishing recorded the highest annual growth among economic activities, with a 13.3% increase in value added between April and June.
The information and communications sector in Turkey grew by 8.6%, followed by public administration, education, health care and social services, where value added rose by 4%.
Agriculture and communications drive economic growth
Value added rose by 3.2% in other service activities and by 2.4% in manufacturing and industry. Financial and insurance activities and the property and housing sector, meanwhile, recorded growth of 2.1% each.
Professional, administrative and support services grew by 2%, whilst retail, transport, accommodation and food services recorded an expansion of 0.5%.
Construction was the only major sector to experience a decline, contracting by 1.9% compared with the same period last year. Meanwhile, household final expenditure rose by 3.5% year-on-year in volume terms, whilst public expenditure fell by 1.8%.
Exports of goods and services fell by 3.4% year-on-year, whilst imports recorded a more pronounced decline of 6.4%.
Unemployment rises in July
TÜİK also published the latest figures on unemployment in Türkiye, which rose by 0.5 percentage points to 8.1% in July. The number of unemployed people aged 15 and over thus increased by 150,000 compared with the previous month, reaching 2.86 million, with the unemployment rate standing at 6.8% among men and 10.6% among women.
The number of people in employment fell by 388,000 compared with June, reaching 32.36 million. The employment rate thus stood at 65.5% amongst men and 31.4% amongst women.
As for the country’s labour force, it fell by 238,000 to 35.22 million, whilst the labour force participation rate fell by 0.4 percentage points to 52.5%, standing at 70.3% for men and 35.2% for women.
Meanwhile, the seasonally adjusted youth unemployment rate, for the 15–24 age group, rose by 1.5 percentage points to 14.5%. The unemployment rate stood at 11.3% amongst young men and 20.3% amongst young women.
Turkish economy grew by 3.7% in 2025
Separately, independent annual GDP estimates compiled by TÜİK showed that the Turkish economy grew by 3.7% in 2025.
GDP at current prices rose last year by 41.6% to 63.24 trillion liras (1.13 trillion euros), whilst GDP per capita stood at 714,682 liras, equivalent to $18,103 or €12,761.
Commenting on the latest economic data, Turkey’s Minister of Treasury and Finance, Mehmet Şimşek, stated that the Eurasian country’s economy has achieved balanced growth thanks to support from both domestic and external demand, and noted that the strengthening of macroeconomic fundamentals is increasing the Turkish economy’s resilience to shocks. Şimşek also indicated that the annualised current account deficit stood at $38.9 billion, equivalent to 2.3% of GDP, a level he described as sustainable.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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