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German and U.S. investors accounted for the largest share of foreign-controlled businesses in Türkiye in 2023, while the tobacco sector emerged as the leading industry for foreign enterprises, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) reported on Tuesday.
The report, which assesses the Turkish real sector’s exposure to external investment, showed that German investors controlled 1,266 companies and accounted for 13.8% of total turnover among foreign-controlled firms. The United States followed with 965 enterprises, contributing 11.2% of foreign-generated turnover.
Among all sectors, the manufacture of tobacco products stood out with the highest level of foreign control, as 92.6% of total turnover in the tobacco industry was generated by foreign-controlled firms in 2023.
The number of enterprises under foreign control in Türkiye rose to 10,265 by the end of 2023, marking a 10.5% year-over-year increase from 9,287 in 2022. These firms represented 12.8% of the country’s total business turnover in 2023, up slightly from 12.7% a year earlier.
In terms of employment, the share of workers employed by foreign-controlled companies also edged up—from 5% in 2022 to 5.1% in 2023.
According to the report, the U.K. followed Germany and the U.S., ranking third with 706 firms and a 10.3% share among foreign enterprises.
Other countries with notable foreign business activity in Türkiye included France, whose enterprises accounted for 7.8% of foreign-controlled turnover, followed by both Luxembourg and Azerbaijan at 5.6%. Japan held a 5.2% share, while companies from the Netherlands, Spain, and China contributed 4.3%, 4%, and 3.8%, respectively.
Among all sectors, the insurance, reinsurance, and pension funding sector followed tobacco, with 43.2% of turnover coming from foreign enterprises.
Foreign involvement was also substantial in automotive manufacturing, specifically the production of motor vehicles, trailers, and semi-trailers, which recorded a foreign control rate of 41%.
The pharmaceutical industry saw a foreign turnover share of 32.7%, while postal and courier services reached 30.9%, and the mining of metal ores stood at 28.8%. Financial services and beverage production followed closely at 28.2% and 26.5%, respectively, with information services at 25.8% and chemical manufacturing at 25%.
Foreign-controlled enterprises refer to companies operating in Türkiye that are either directly or indirectly overseen by foreign individuals or legal entities.
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