According to the International Trade in Services Statistics (excluding travel), Turkey's services exports soared to $47.6 billion in 2022, marking a remarkable 37% increase from the $34.7 billion recorded in 2021.
Concurrently, service imports also experienced substantial growth, rising by 25.6% from $28.1 billion in 2021 to $35.2 billion in 2022.
Transport services stood out as the dominant contributor to Turkey's services exports, accounting for an impressive 74.3% share in 2022, up from 69.1% in the previous year.
"Other business services" held the second position, albeit with a slight decrease from 10.2% in 2021 to 8.4% in 2022. "Telecommunication, computer, and information services" claimed the third spot with a 6.2% share in 2022.
The surge in transport services exports was particularly noteworthy, as they reached $35.35 billion in 2022, marking a substantial 47.2% increase from $24.06 billion in 2021.
Additionally, "Telecommunication, computer, and information services" exports grew by 14.2% compared to the previous year, reaching $2.958 billion.
In terms of services imports, transport services also dominated, capturing 46.3% of the share in 2022, up from 38.8% in 2021. "Other business services" followed with 19.4% in 2022, slightly down from 21.4% in 2021, while "Telecommunication, computer, and information services" contributed 10.0% to total imports in 2022.
The European Union played a pivotal role in Turkey's services trade, serving as both the primary export and import destination. Services exports to the European Union in 2022 reached $18.814 billion, while exports to other European countries amounted to $6.682 billion.
Imports from the European Union totaled $15.171 billion, with $3.807 billion from other European countries. This marked the European Union as the leading group of countries for Turkey's services trade, holding a 39.5% share of services exports and 43.1% of services imports in 2022.
Germany emerged as the top trading partner for Turkey, ranking first for services exports at $5.847 billion, equivalent to a 12.3% share. The United States followed with a 10.3% share, and the United Kingdom came in third with a 5.8% share in 2022.
For services imports, Ireland took the lead with an 8.7% share, amounting to $3.078 billion. Germany secured the second position with a 7.9% share and $2.787 billion, while the United States ranked third with a 7.9% share and $2.772 billion in 2022.
These impressive figures highlight Turkey's growing presence in the global services trade market, with significant contributions from the transport and telecommunications sectors. The dominance of the European Union as a trading partner underscores the importance of international collaboration in Turkey's economic landscape. (ILKHA)