German-turkish economic relations: five facts

Jobs, trade, investments: This is how the German and Turkish economies benefit from each other.

Large trading volume

Germany is Turkey’s most important trading partner. Only in 2017 did the bilateral trade volume reach a new record level of EUR 37.6 billion. No other country purchases so many Turkish goods in foreign trade – and only Russia and China export more to Turkey than Germany.

High investments

Investments by German companies in Turkey amount to around EUR 12.9 billion; Turkish companies have invested 1.8 billion euros in Germany. This has benefited the clothing and textile industry in Germany in particular over the past 15 years, while projects in the automotive industry were most important for German investments in Turkey.

Numerous companies

There are over 7,000 German companies active in Turkey, and around 1,300 Turkish companies in Germany. Entrepreneurs of Turkish origin employ around 500,000 people in Germany and generate annual sales of around 50 billion euros.

Significant employers

One hundred percent subsidiaries of German companies are significant in Turkey employer: As a supplier, for example, Bosch Sanayi ve Ticaret (around 8,000 employees), as a manufacturer of trucks and buses, Mercedes-Benz Türk (around 6,000). BSH Ev Aletleri employs around 7,000 people in the electrical industry, and around 4,000 in the Hugo Boss Tekstil textile industry. The most traditional German company in the country is Siemens: The industrial group has been active in Turkey since 1856. Siemens Turkey employs around 3,000 people and creates indirect jobs for over 40,000 people.

Strong partners

Turkish companies have gained in importance for the German economy in recent years. Şahinler is the largest Turkish group of companies in Germany – and among other things one of the most important manufacturers of children’s clothing in Europe. Enerjisa Enerji stands for an outstanding German-Turkish partnership: the joint venture between the Turkish company Sabanci and the German company E.ON employs over 9,000 people in Turkey in the energy industry and generates annual sales of around $ 4 billion.

Sources: Federal Foreign Office, Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI)

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