Türkiye’s manufacturing sector has experienced significant growth in both employment and firm activity over the past five years, according to the “Sector Balance Sheets 2024” study conducted jointly by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) and the Central Bank.
As of 2024, the number of employees in the sector reached 4.25 million, marking a 26 percent increase compared to 2019.
During the same period, the number of firms operating in manufacturing rose by nearly 60 percent, climbing to 180,637.
Data show that food production companies lead in employment, with 484,567 people working across 19,865 firms.
The sector’s overall assets also expanded dramatically, increasing tenfold from 2.33 trillion Turkish Liras in 2019 to 25.67 trillion liras in 2024, underscoring the scale of industrial expansion.
Domestic sales accounted for the majority of revenues, totaling 17.24 trillion liras, while foreign sales reached 5.72 trillion liras. This distribution indicates that approximately 74 percent of total sales were generated within Turkey, with 25 percent coming from international markets. In addition, other income streams contributed 305.1 billion liras.
Research and development expenditures surged in recent years, reflecting the sector’s growing emphasis on innovation. R&D spending rose to 73.3 billion liras in 2024, a nearly twelvefold increase compared to 5.8 billion liras in 2019.
