Once the figures are announced, Turkey’s economic growth in 2018 is likely to exceed the forecasts, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Friday, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
“Hopefully, growth in 2018 will be above the estimates despite the plot that was devised against our country using exchange rates, interest rates and inflation,” Erdoğan told a meeting of ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) provincial leaders in the capital of Ankara.
Erdoğan said Turkey’s economy grew 7.4 percent in 2017 over the previous year, adding that Turkey’s GDP based on purchasing power parity (PPP) is ranked 13th in the world.
For 2018, the current World Bank estimate for Turkey’s growth is 3.5 percent.
Erdoğan also touted the government’s dedication to fighting inflation, saying that during 16 years of AKP rule, the average inflation rate was 9.5 percent, far better than that experienced under previous governments.
The Turkish lira had fallen as much as 47 percent against the dollar during a currency crisis last year, raising concerns about a banking collapse and an economic meltdown. It has since recovered some of its losses, finishing last year down nearly 30 percent against the dollar.
Annual inflation in Turkey stood at 20.3 percent according to data revealed in December.