most of Turkey's trade is still with OECD
countries. Despite the implementation in January 1996 of customs union
with the EU, foreign direct investment in the country remains
low-about $0.5 billion annually-perhaps because potential investors
are concerned about high inflation and the unsettled political
situation. Economic growth will slow in 1998 to perhaps 4%, and
inflation should decline, although the government's 50% target appears
overoptimistic. The current account deficit probably will remain
small-1% to 1.5% of GDP - when Turkey's unrecorded "suitcase" exports
are included.

GDP: purchasing power parity-$388.3 billion (1997 est.)

GDP-real growth rate: 7.2% (1997)

GDP-per capita: purchasing power parity-$6,100 (1997 est.)

GDP-composition by sector:
agriculture: 15%
industry: 28.4%
services: 56.6% (1996)

Inflation rate-consumer price index: 99% (1997)

Labor force:
total: 21.6 million
by occupation: agriculture 43.1%, services 30.1%, industry 14.4%,
construction 6.0% (1996)
note: about 1.5 million Turks work abroad (1994)

Unemployment rate: 5.9% another 5.1% officially considered
underemployed (April 1997)

Budget:
revenues: $38.5 billion
expenditures: $52.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $4.2
billion (1997)

Industries: textiles, food processing, mining (coal, chromite, copper,
boron), steel, petroleum, construction, lumber, paper

Industrial production growth rate: 10.8% (1997 est.)

Electricity-capacity: 21.83 million kW (1997)

Electricity-production: 103 billion kWh (1997)

Electricity-consumption per capita: 1,636 kWh (1997)

Agriculture-products: tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar beets,
pulses, citrus; livestock

Exports:
total value: $26 billion (f.o.b., 1997); note-substantial unrecorded
exports estimated at $5.8 billion
commodities: textiles and apparel 37%, iron and steel products 10%,
foodstuffs 17% (1997)
partners: Germany 20%, US 8%, Russia 8%, UK 6%, Italy 5% (1997)

Imports:
total value: $46.7 billion (f.o.b., 1997)
commodities: machinery 26%, fuels 13%, raw materials 10%, foodstuffs
4% (1997)
partners: Germany 16%, Italy 9%, US 9%, France 6%, UK 6% (1997)

Debt-external: $84.5 billion (September 1997)

Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $195 million (1993)

Currency: Turkish lira (TL)

Exchange rates: Turkish liras (TL) per US$1-212,500 (January 1998),
151,600 (1997), 81,405 (1996), 45,845.1 (1995), 29,608.7 (1994),
10,984.6 (1993)

Fiscal ye