ANKARA: Turkey’s economic growth will fall short of the government’s target this year, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday, even as President Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party continues to implement stimulus measures ahead of elections.
The economy will expand 4.1 percent in 2018, according to the poll of 53 economists, well below the government’s forecast of 5.5 percent and just above the 4.0 percent predicted in a January Reuters poll.
Under its medium-term economic program, the government is forecasting annual economic growth of 5.5 percent through 2020. However, the Reuters poll estimates growth for 2019 at just 4.0 percent.
Turkish gross domestic product expanded 7.4 percent in 2017, its fastest annual rate since 2013, thanks to robust growth in industrial output and construction.
