Turkey: A Bridge Between Continents

An overview of Turkey's economy - its size, location between Europe and Asia, main industries and why it is a useful case study in macroeconomic policy.

Turkey (officially Türkiye since 2022 at the UN) sits between Europe and Asia.

Size

Population of around 85 million.
One of the world’s 20 largest economies, a member of the G20.
An upper-middle-income country.

Main sectors

Manufacturing: cars, textiles, appliances, steel and defence.
Tourism: tens of millions of visitors a year.
Construction.
Agriculture: hazelnuts, figs and apricots, where Turkey is a world leader.

Strategic location

Istanbul straddles Europe and Asia.
Control of the Bosphorus strait linking the Black Sea to the Mediterranean.
Energy pipelines from Russia, the Caspian and Middle East pass through Turkey.

Why study Turkey

Turkey shows how monetary policy choices, inflation and currency crises affect ordinary people, making it a vivid case study.

The hazelnut spread

Much of the world's hazelnuts come from Turkey's Black Sea coast. A poor harvest there affects the price of chocolate spreads worldwide.

Thinking Turkey is a small economy

It's a G20 member and one of the 20 largest economies.

Key takeaways

Turkey links Europe and Asia with about 85 million people.
It's a G20 member with strong manufacturing and tourism.
It leads the world in hazelnuts.
Its policies make it a vivid macro case study.