City Profile The city of Istanbul is located in the most populous area of the country and the area with the highest rate of population growth.  This region, named Marmara, accounts for about one-third of GDP.  In 2004 the Greater City Municipality of Istanbul had a reported consolidated budget of about US$5bn.

Country Rankings Turkey Ease of Doing Business World Bank '05 93 of 155 Med* Corruption Perception Transparency International '05 65 of 159 Med Growth Competitiveness World Economic Forum '05 66 of 117 Med National Literacy 86.5% Med GDP Growth (2004 est.) 8.2% High

This major port city is also home to the Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE) which posted an over 30% gain last year.  According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, the ISE has proved popular among companies and savers and has at times attracted significant foreign investment. 

Istanbul is home to the traditional textiles industry and is also home to the Black Sea Economic Co-operation (BSEC) which began operating in 1999.  The organization comprises the heads of state and government of the member states (Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine). The BSEC was formed with the goal of extending economic co-operation by facilitating contacts between businesses and eliminating barriers to trade.

In Oct 2005, the Istanbul Municipality and Dubai International Properties signed agreements for US$5 billion investments into greater Istanbul.   The investments would concentrate in the fields of tourism, transport and energy.  The Milliyet newspaper reported that Dubai International Properties would play a part in the construction and operation of projects developed by the city of Istanbul, Turkey's biggest with a population of about 12 million and a booming real-estate sector.  The projects include the construction of hotels, business towers, commercial centers, shopping malls and residential and recreational complexes on the European and Asian sides of the city, Milliyet said.

The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality has also prepared the investment program 2005.  The total number of projects is over 1200.  These have been selected in the infrastructure, service, and transportation sectors, among others with great attention out of proposals much more then the number to be fixed.

Source:

Population: 2004 or latest: http://www.citypopulation.de; GDP Data: 2004 CIA Fact Book estimate; Literacy: UN estimate

* Country Ranking Codes: A relative color coding of where the country falls compared to the 20 other Muslim countries represented in this list. Hgh/Green=Top 3rd; Med/Yellow=Mid 3rd; Low/Orange=Bottom rd

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