The Turkish economy grew at a larger-than-expected 11.1 percent in the third quarter of 2017, according to data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute. The double-digit growth rate saw Türkiye become the fastest growing G20 economy in Q3.
The figure is likely to cause an upward revision to Türkiye’s overall annual growth forecast of 5.5 percent for this year. The country's GDP growth rate for the first nine months of 2017 was 7.4 percent.
Commenting on the result, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that Türkiye will likely see an annual growth rate of 7.5 percent by the end of the year. Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Şimşek said that Türkiye posted a growth performance so strong that no one could have imagined it a year ago. "We expect both domestic and external demand to stay strong for the next year," Şimşek added.
Fiscal measures taken by the government, such as the Credit Guarantee Fund, have spurred a strong increase in economic activity in Türkiye and have had a favorable impact on the robust growth rate achieved in the third quarter. The growth was mainly fueled by strong household consumption and rising public and private investments, which respectively contributed 7 points and 3.6 points to the 11.1 percent growth rate. Investments in the machinery sector also pointed towards signs of optimism, as that sector saw its first increase in investments in nearly two years.
Meanwhile, among the G20 countries, China registered 6.8 percent growth in the third quarter, while the Indian economy expanded 6.3 percent in the same period.