The Outline of Turkish Healthcare Environment

Though considerably low today with an increasing and prospering population of 72,5 million, the Turkish healthcare industry offers significant opportunities for foreign medical investors

Despite challenging economic times globally,Turkish fiscal policy has been quite successful and inflation and interest rates have fallen significantly over the past years.Moreover, as part of Turkey's bid for full membership in the European Union, there were significant changes to the regulatory structure and policy makers have been implementing a range of quality, technical and medical standards in healthcare institutions.Within this framework, health spending per capita in Turkey has grown,in real terms, by 5.8% per year on average between 2000 and 2005, one of the fastest growth rates in OECD countries, and significantly higher than the OECD average of 4.3% per year.Despite this growth trend, Turkey spent 818 USD (PPP) in 2008,compared to the OECD average of 3,060 USD.This figure alone is sufficient to express the huge potential of the Turkish market.

The main change in the Turkish healthcare environment has been the growth of private sector in the last decades.As a result of this growth, the distribution of hospitals and beds today between public and private providers is as follows:

Beginning from 1990s,private investors have been highly active in the market and in the last years,Turkish healthcare providers have been attracting an increasing number of foreign investors.Today, there are close to 10 international investment funds and groups holding interest in Turkish hospitals and clinics.
As number of private providers increase, so does employment in private sector for healthcare professionals.

Number of Doctors in Turkey (2000-2009)

Source: Turkish Ministry of Health