Turkish authorities underwhelmed by 2.2% growth last year

Turkey's government had predicted a full-year growth of 4% The Turkish economy grew by a less-than-expected 2.2 percent last year, the national statistics institute said on Monday, following a year marked by a steady decline in business activity .In the final three months of the year, the economy expanded by just 1.4 percent, pursuing a downward trend following figures for the first three quarters of 3.3, 2.9 and 1.6 percent, respectively, the data showed.
The government had initially forecast full-year growth of 4.0 percent, but had already revised the estimate down to 3.2 percent owing to the sluggish global economic climate.
Turkish output represented $10,504.00 (8,204 euros) per inhabitant, an increase of $60.00, the institute said in a statement.
The country posted record growth of 8.9 percent in 2010, followed by a strong expansion of 8.8 percent in 2011 in large part owing to domestic demand, following which authorities sought to guide the economy towards a soft landing that relied more on trade.
Ankara cut its trade deficit by 20.7 percent last year from the level in 2011, to $84 billion, in large part owing to a 13.1 percent increase in exports.
Turkey currently ranks as the 17th biggest economy worldwide in terms of gross domestic product.
Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan was quoted by the Anatolia news agency as saying that growth would strengthen this year and that the "our goal for 2023 is to be among the top 10" countries in terms of GDP.