Türkiye tops G20 countries in services exports growth

ISTANBUL

Türkiye ranked first among G20 countries in terms of services export growth in the second quarter of 2024, the Trade Ministry has said.

In the first six months of 2024, Türkiye’s services exports increased by 9.5 percent from a year ago to reach $47.2 billion, according to a statement by the ministry.

Services imports grew 11.8 percent to $23.1 billion in the January-June period of this year.

Türkiye’s services exports amounted to $101.7 billion last year, capturing a 1.29 percent share of the global services exports, ranking 22nd in the world, the ministry said, adding that services exports target for 2024 is $110 billion.

Türkiye ranked first among G20 countries in the rate of increase in exports of services in the second quarter of 2024 compared to the previous quarter, while the rate of increase in imports of services in Türkiye decreased the most among these nations, said the ministry.

G20 exports and imports growth of services are estimated to have slowed to 1.9 percent and 1.1 percent in the second quarter of 2024, from the 3.4 percent and 3.7 percent increases recorded in the previous quarter, the ministry noted, citing data from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

Türkiye’s services exports amounted to $29.3 billion in the second quarter of 2024, showed OECD data.

The U.S. was the largest exporter of services at $275 billion in the second quarter, followed by the U.K. at $154 billion. Germany ranked third on the list at $112.6 billion.

The Turkish services sector has strengthened its position in the world services trade and demonstrated its potential once again, said the ministry, adding that the sector's favorable contribution to the country's current account balance is gradually increasing.

The ministry budgeted 2.5 billion Turkish liras in support to service exporters last year and it increased the size of support to 5.1 billion liras for 2024 and some 3.9 billion liras were already extended in support in the January-August period, it noted.

Exports of the Turkish services industry stood at $43.2 billion in 2012, climbing to $62.3 billion in 2014. Export revenues declined to $35.1 billion in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the global economy.

The local services industry includes sectors such as tourism and travel, software and IT, freight transportation and logistics, health care, construction and technical consultancy, port management and ground services, entertainment and culture and education.