The gross debt stock of Turkey's central government increased by 0.87% m/m and 16% y/y to stand at TRY921bn (€171bn) in April, the Treasury announced on May 21.
The gross debt stock was TRY760bn at the end of 2016 and TRY876.5bn at end-2017.
The country’s domestic debt stock rose by 0.49% m/m to TRY553bn, while the external debt stock edged up 1.45% m/m to TRY368bn.
Across January-April, Turkey’s central government budget deficit expanded by 30% y/y to TRY23.2bn. The government is targeting a budget deficit of TRY65.9bn in 2018.
For the full year of 2017, the central government budget balance showed a deficit of TRY47.4bn, below expectations at around 1.5% of GDP.
Under Turkey’s medium-term economic programme, the targets for the budget deficit/GDP ratio are 1.9% for both 2018 and 2019 and 1.6% in 2020.
The government’s budget was stretched by a set of economic stimulus measures brought in during the build-up to the April 2017 referendum, which officially resulted in a Yes vote for an executive presidency.
On May 1, the Turkish government announced election incentives for 12mn retirees that will cost TRY22-24bn by year-end.