Turkish economy grows 7.4 percent in 2017

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's economy grew 7.4 percent in 2017, compared with the previous year, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) announced on Thursday.

GDP at current prices climbed to over 3.1 trillion Turkish liras (nearly $850.7 billion) last year, up 19 percent from 2016, according to TurkStat.

The total value added of services and industry rose by 10.7 percent and 9.2 percent, respectively, while the construction sector boasted a 8.9 percent rise. The agricultural sector enjoyed a 4.7 percent hike in 2017, compared to 2016.

TurkStat also revealed that Turkish economic growth in the last quarter of 2017 reached 7.3 percent, compared with the same quarter of previous year.

"Gross domestic product increased by 19 percent and reached 889.2 billion liras ($234 billion) at current prices," it said.

Anadolu Agency’s growth expectation on March 22 -- as a result of a survey conducted by a group of 17 experts -- was 7.3 percent for 2017 and 7.1 percent for the final quarter.