This country note features selected environmental indicators from the OECD Core Set, building on harmonised datasets available on OECD Data Explorer. The indicators reflect major environmental issues, including climate, air quality, freshwater resources, waste and the circular economy, and biodiversity. Differences with national data sources can occur due to delays in data treatment and publication, or due to different national definitions and measurement methods. The OECD is working with countries and other international organisations to further improve the indicators and the underlying data.
Environment at a Glance: Türkiye
Türkiye is one of the largest OECD economies and the fastest growing in economic, population and urbanisation terms. However, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per person remains below the OECD average. Following the May 2023 elections, fiscal and monetary policies have become restrictive, which has contributed to the economy’s slowdown in 2024 (OECD, 2025[1]). Türkiye has a much larger agricultural sector than other OECD countries. It has a rapidly growing private industrial sector in basic industry, construction, transport and communication. Population density is on average much higher than in the OECD area, but is rather low in most parts of the country.
Türkiye is a coastal and mountainous country. With an area of 779 452 km2, it straddles Europe and Asia across the Sea of Marmara and the Istanbul Strait (Bosporus) and Çanakkale Strait (Dardanelles). Türkiye is endowed with relatively few natural resources, mainly lignite, coal, iron, borate and copper. It is water-scarce and erosion-prone country. Its geographical position and geomorphological configuration make it a hotspot of biodiversity. Because Türkiye is located at the intersection of the Mediterranean and Near Eastern gene centres, it is genetically very diverse.
Türkiye has a centralised system of environmental governance, where most powers are exercised by the national government and its territorial institutions, and environmental responsibilities are split across several ministries, namely the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
CO2 emissions from fuel combustion and total energy supply have grown at a slower pace than GDP since the 2008 financial crisis, resulting in a relative decoupling.
Although per person production-based and demand-based (or footprint) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions remain well below the OECD averages, they have been increasing during 1996-2020, unlike most OECD countries.
Total greenhouse gas GHG emissions (excluding LULUCF) have been steadily increasing driven by growing energy consumption and transportation. Energy industries are the largest source of emissions, followed by transport and the residential sector. The land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector act as a net sink.
Türkiye is endowed with large reserves of lignite and some hard coal, but has few oil and gas resources. Rapid economic and population growth in the past two decades have driven strong growth in energy demand and in the associated import dependency (OECD, 2019[2]). The share of renewable energy sources in the energy mix has slightly increased since 2000, but fossil fuels remain largely dominant, over 80% of total energy supply in 2023. The share of renewables in electricity production has fluctuated but overall increased.
Emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx), non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC) and fine particles (PM2.5) have declined, emissions of sulphur oxides (SOx) and ammonia (NH3) increased. The bulk of SOx emissions is produced by power generation followed far behind by industrial combustion. More than half of NOx emissions come from power stations and road transport. Industrial and other combustion represents the bulk of carbon monoxide emissions, while industrial production and agriculture are responsible for more than two-thirds of non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) (OECD, 2019[2]).
SOx emission intensities are high while emissions intensities of other pollutants are below the OECD average.
Air quality is a concern, especially in large cities and industrialised regions (OECD, 2019[2]). Average population exposure to fine particulates (PM2.5) is high and well above the 2021 guideline value of 5 µ/m3 recommended by the World Health Organization.
Türkiye is not a water-rich country and water resources are not distributed evenly. Population growth, urbanisation and expansion of irrigation areas generate higher water demand and increase pressures on water resources. Total abstractions have increased since 2007, putting the country under medium-high water stress. Agriculture is the sector that uses most of abstracted freshwater. Abstractions for public supply per person decreased after the 2008 economic crisis but increased again since 2015.
Data on wastewater treatment levels are incomplete. Connection rates to public wastewater treatment plants have increased significantly but remain below the OECD average. Only about 41% of the population benefits from tertiary (“advanced”) treatment.
Generation of municipal waste per person in Türkiye is below the OECD average and has been decreasing since 2000. The share of the population served by municipal waste services increased to over 90% (OECD, 2019[2]). However, most municipal waste is sent to landfills; only small quantities are composted or recycled.
Türkiye is endowed with some natural resources, such as antimony, coal, chromium, mercury, copper, borate, sulphur and iron ore. Material productivity increased over the past decade thanks to high economic growth, and is above the OECD average. Domestic material consumption (DMC) intensity per person peaked in 2011 and decreased afterwards, despite a rebound in 2017. Türkiye’s material footprint intensity grew faster than DMC intensity since 2006, reflecting the increase in imports of intermediate goods.
As in many other OECD countries, construction minerals constitute the bulk of the materials used. The share of fossil energy carriers, especially coal, lignite, oil and natural gas, increased over the past decade.
Türkiye’s geographical position and geomorphological configuration make it a hotspot of biodiversity. Natural and semi-natural areas have expanded since 1992 mainly thanks to afforestation and reforestation. However, rapid urbanisation that led to urban sprawl, mainly around major cities, and transport and industrial expansion exert growing pressures on the natural environment. The main factors affecting wildlife are soil artificialisation, habitat loss and fragmentation, pollution, water use, climate change and invasive species
Türkiye has an exceptionally rich biodiversity, both in flora and fauna species, 31% of which are endemic. About three-quarters of European flora and fauna species can be found on its territory. Many domestic animal species were originally bred in Anatolia and spread to other regions of the world. Türkiye is also located on two major bird migration routes, making it an important place for feeding and breeding
This section shows selected policy instruments based on data available for most OECD countries and does not provide a complete overview of countries’ policy mix to achieve their environment-related objectives. Interpretation should consider the country specific context.
Revenue from environmentally related taxes in GDP have been declining since 2010 but remain above the OECD average. The relative proportion of revenue raised from energy taxes decreased significantly over the past two decades, with more revenue raised from motor vehicle and transport taxes. Pollution and resource taxes do not raise much revenue.
Türkiye implicitly supports the consumption of fossil fuels through favourable tax treatments such as tax exemptions, with significant revenue foregone (tax expenditures) related to bitumen and petroleum coke fuels that are used as inputs in many industry sectors. In term of direct budgetary transfers, coal aid to poor families for heating represents the most significant form of support. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, several measures and initiatives were implemented in the country. As a response to the soaring energy prices and following the cancellation of tenders of the Electricity Generation Company to purchase electricity from power plants through the end of 2025, Türkiye introduced several support measures, among which a six-month resource-based price cap mechanism for electricity, natural gas consumption support for the vulnerable households (OECD, 2023[3]).
In total, 31.4% of GHG emissions in Türkiye were subject to a positive Net Effective Carbon Rate (ECR) in 2023. Türkiye does not levy an explicit carbon price. Fuel excise taxes, an implicit form of carbon pricing, cover 31.4% of emissions in 2023. Direct fossil fuel subsidies cover 16% of emissions. About 2% of GHG emissions have a Net ECR above EUR 60 per tonne of CO2 eq., a mid-range estimate of current carbon costs. Net Effective Carbon Rates are highest in the road transport sector, which accounts for 15.3% of the country's total GHG emissions. The Net ECR is zero or negative in the electricity and other GHG emissions sectors. Together, these sectors account for 47% of GHG emissions (OECD, 2024[4])..
The share of environmentally-related government R&D budget allocations is below the OECD average and decreasing. By contrast, the share of renewables in public RD&D budget for energy is relatively high, at about 30.3% in 2023.
In terms of environmentally-related patent applications, Türkiye is a marginal player with respect to the size of its economy and population, both in terms of absolute number of patent applications and in terms of share in total inventions.
Türkiye has significantly stepped up its role as a provider of international development co-operation and humanitarian assistance by increasing its geographical reach, sectoral focus and volume over recent decades, and, while its co-operation volume decreased, it was the second largest provider of humanitarian aid in 2023. In 2024, Türkiye ODA ranked among the top 10 bilateral providers of development co-operation reporting to the Creditor Reporting System, according to preliminary data. Türkiye’s total official development assistance (ODA) was USD 7.4 billion (preliminary data), representing 0.56% of gross national income (GNI) and decrease compared to 2023. (OECD, 2025[5]).
References
[5] OECD (2025), Development Co-operation Profiles, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/development-co-operation-profiles_04b376d7-en/turkiye_09a14591-en.html.
[1] OECD (2025), OECD Economic Surveys: Türkiye 2025, https://doi.org/10.1787/d01c660f-en.
[4] OECD (2024), Pricing Greenhouse Gas Emissions 2024: Gearing Up to Bring Emissions Down, OECD Series on Carbon Pricing and Energy Taxation, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/b44c74e6-en.
[3] OECD (2023), OECD Inventory of Support Measures for Fossil Fuels: Country Notes, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/5a3efe65-en.
[2] OECD (2019), OECD Environmental Performance Reviews: Türkiye 2019, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264309753-en.
CBD (2022), Country profiles: Türkiye, https://www.cbd.int/countries/profile/?country=tr#facts
IEA (2021), Türkiye 2021 Energy Policy Review, IEA Energy Policy Reviews, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/0633467f-en
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Note by the Republic of Türkiye
The information in this document with reference to “Cyprus” relates to the southern part of the Island. There is no single authority representing both Turkish and Greek Cypriot people on the Island. Türkiye recognises the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). Until a lasting and equitable solution is found within the context of the United Nations, Türkiye shall preserve its position concerning the “Cyprus issue”.
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