Turkey: Economic outlook

Turkey is one of the main trading partners of the European Union. In the past 15 years, significant market reforms have boosted the Turkish economy. Since the recent global economic crisis, GDP growth has been solid (around 4%), half of the 2007 rate. The current account imbalance makes Turkey's economy highly dependent on foreign investment to maintain the strong growth needed to absorb new workers (young people, women) on the job market. In this context, high unemployment has triggered a debate on the future orientation of economic policies.