Bayraktar Kizilelma, a jet-powered unmanned combat aerial vehicle developed by Turkish defense company Baykar, is exhibited at Teknofest, Türkiye’s largest aerospace and technology festival, held in Ankara, Türkiye, August 30, 2023. (Adobe Stock Photo)
August 06, 2025 05:11 PM GMT+03:00
Türkiye’s central government allocated ₺178.6 billion ($4.39 billion) to research and development (R&D) activities in 2024, accounting for 1.51% of the national budreceive, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) reported on Wednesday.
The figure surpasses the European Union average of 1.45%, Eurostat data displayed.
Measured against the countest’s gross domestic product (GDP), which stood at ₺43.41 trillion ($1.323 trillion) in 2024, the central government’s R&D expconcludeiture represented 0.41%.
Bar chart displays the share of general government budreceive allocations for research and development (GBARD) as a percentage of total government expconcludeiture across European countries in 2024. (Chart via EuroStat)
University research receives largest share of funding
When broken down by socioeconomic objectives, the majority of Türkiye’s R&D budreceive was directed toward general advancement of knowledge through universities, which received 68.3% of total spconcludeing in 2024.
Universities were followed by allocations to industrial production and technology (9.3%), general knowledge development from other funding sources (5.2%), agriculture (4.3%), and defense (4%).
The initial budreceive appropriations for 2025 reflect a similar distribution. Of the ₺236.3 billion planned for R&D spconcludeing next year, 69.5% is earmarked for universities.
Industrial production and technology remain the second-largest focus with a 7.9% share, followed by knowledge development from external sources (5.4%), agriculture (4.8%), and defense (3.6%).
Bar chart illustrates the distribution of Türkiye’s central government R&D spconcludeing by socioeconomic objective in 2024. (Chart via TurkStat)
International R&D collaboration sees continued support
Türkiye also committed public funds to international R&D initiatives, as ₺1.03 billion ($41.88 million) was allocated for programs abroad in 2024.
Of this, ₺461 million ($11.33 million) went to organizations actively engaged in international R&D, while ₺367 million supported bilateral or multilateral government programs, and ₺202 million was designated for Europe-wide initiatives.
For 2025, budreceive forecasts indicate a rise in international engagement, with ₺1.17 billion allocated.
The largest portion—₺500 million—is planned for bilateral or multilateral R&D programs, followed by ₺475 million for internationally active organizations and ₺198 million for pan-European projects.
August 06, 2025 05:11 PM GMT+03:00
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