ISTANBUL — The Turkish economy has maintained an uninterrupted growth streak for 24 consecutive quarters, with the information and communication sector emerging as the main driver of growth during this period.
The Turkish economy grew by 2.3% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026, according to data compiled from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK). GDP at current prices rose 36% year-on-year to 19.87 trillion Turkish liras ($438.35 billion).
Türkiye has not recorded year-on-year economic contraction since the third quarter of 2020, following a 10.1% contraction in the second quarter of 2020 amid the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Annual growth subsequently reached 22.1% in the second quarter of 2021, before gradually slowing to 2.3% in the second quarter of 2026.
Information and Communication Outpaces Other Sectors
During the six-year period of uninterrupted growth, the information and communication sector recorded the strongest expansion based on seasonally and calendar-adjusted data.
The sector grew by a cumulative 58%, exceeding the Turkish economy’s overall growth of 52% during the same period. Its average annual growth rate stood at 9.7%, the highest among all sectors.
The acceleration in digitalization following the pandemic boosted demand for telecommunications, software and digital services. Analysts attributed the sector’s strong performance to increased digitalization, investments in remote-working infrastructure, the expansion of e-commerce, and rising demand for telecommunications and software services.
Other sectors recorded more modest growth. Agriculture, forestry and fishing grew by just 3%, while construction expanded by 13.5% and finance and insurance by 14%. The industrial sector grew by 23%, remaining slightly below the economy-wide average.
Household Consumption Rises 3.5%
Household consumption continued to support economic activity. Household consumption expenditure increased 3.5% year-on-year in the second quarter on a chain-volume basis.
Meanwhile, government final consumption expenditure declined 1.8%, while gross fixed capital formation increased 0.6%.
Exports of goods and services fell 3.4%, while imports declined 6.4% year-on-year in chain-volume terms.
Labor payments increased 36.7% in the second quarter, while net operating surplus and mixed income rose 38.7%. Labor payments accounted for 38.1% of gross value added, compared with 38.3% a year earlier.
Source: Patronlar Dünyası/ Prepared by: İlayda Gök