I was in Istanbul in August 2019 to speak at a conference. Besides the wide variety of food, culture and tourist places to check out, Istanbul is uniquely known to be situated between Europe and Asia; separated by a bridge.
Here’s my top 10 business facts about Turkey after a thoroughly exhilarating trip!
1. The land of Turkey has an extremely rich cultural heritage and draws approximately 15 million tourists every year with its beautiful Mediterranean and Aegean beaches and such popular historical sites as Ephesus, Cappadocia, Antioch and Istanbul.
2. The currency is the New Turkish Lira (YTL), which was introduced in 2005, and is essentially the old currency minus 6 zeroes.
3. Turkey is negotiating its accession to the European Union (EU) as a member state, following its application accede to the European Economic Community, the predecessor of the EU, on 14 April 1987. After the ten founding members, Turkey was one of the first countries to become a member of the Council of Europe in 1949. However, since 2016, accession negotiations have stalled.
4. As of 2016, Turkey is the world’s largest producer of hazelnuts, cherries, figs, apricots, and pomegranates; and the second-largest producer of quinces and watermelons. It is the world’s fifth largest producer of olive oil.
5. A total of 25 businessmen and women from Turkey have made it to the 2019 billionaire list, with a combined wealth of USD43.1 billion. Although staggering, all that wealth is still less than a third of the fortune of the richest person on earth, Amazon chief Jeff Bezos.
6. Since August 2018, Turkey has been going through a currency and debt crisis, characterised by the Turkish lira plunging in value, high inflation, rising borrowing costs, and correspondingly rising loan defaults. The crisis was caused by the Turkish economy’s excessive current account deficit and foreign-currency debt.
7. As much as 18-20% of the population own cryptocurrency; making Turkey the most crypto-friendly European nation in the world.
8. Turkey held the 101st position out of 113 countries in the World Justice Project’s 2017-18 Rule of Law Index, a comprehensive measure of the rule of law.
9. Direct capital inflows fell to USD12 billion in 2018, down from USD22 billion in 2007. Meanwhile, the growth rate, which was 7% in 2007, is likely to be negative in 2019.
10. Turkey has a population of about 80 million people; with half of its population under the age of 32. This gives Turkey the largest youth population when compared with other countries in the EU.
To your success,
Mario
[Visit www.mariosingh.com now to enjoy a FREE e-book of my latest “37 Essential Principles for Massive Success” when you subscribe!]
