Turkey's economy expanded 2.9 percent in 2016

By Bahattin Gonultas

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's economy expanded at a rate of 2.9 percent in 2016, the Turkish Statistical Institute reported on Friday.

The annual growth rate was much higher than the median forecast recorded by Anadolu Agency’s Finance Desk survey, which had envisaged a 2.3 percent GDP increase in 2016 from a year earlier.

Turkey's fourth-quarter GDP reading was also substantially higher than experts’ median estimates, coming in at 3.5 percent compared to a 2.4 percent survey prediction.

These better-than-expected figures were partly related to the upwards revision of previous quarters.