Turkey

Turkey

Anatolia (transcontinental)

Europe / Middle EastNon-EU
67
Overall score
Strong overall
Language
Turkish
Currency
TRY
Citizenship
5 years (or ~3–6 months via investment)
Personal tax
15–40%
Cost of living
$900 / mo (single)

A large transcontinental economy bridging Europe and Asia with a fast property-based citizenship-by-investment route (US$400k), low living costs and a digital-nomad visa - though high inflation is a real drawback.

Pros

  • Fast CBI via US$400k property
  • Low cost of living; big market
  • Digital nomad visa; dual citizenship allowed

Cons

  • High inflation & currency volatility
  • Turkish needed locally
  • Passport access weaker than EU

Best for

Property investors seeking a passportFounders targeting the regionNomads & remote workers

Score profile

Status & mobility
Passport
63
Citizenship
86
Residence
44
Money & business
Taxes
56
Corporate tax
29
Business
46
Investment
52
Economy
61
Wealth building
59
Living, study & work
Education
80
Salary & work
59
Cost of living
87
Buying power
67
Quality of life
Safety
52
Healthcare
70
Infrastructure
74
HDI
85

Status & mobility

Passport

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any travel or visa decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Passport power
Moderate
63

Passport-index style mobility for the Turkey passport. The score above is its world reach: the share of 198 destinations reachable without a prior visa.

124 / 198
Mobility
#46
Global rank
Yes
Biometric
  • Visa-free76
  • On arrival42
  • eTA6
  • Visa required74

Passport Index style mobility data (2024–2025 estimate). Placeholder figures; verify current entry rules with each destination’s authority before travelling.

Citizenship

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any citizenship decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Citizenship accessibility
Excellent
86
Years required5 years residence, or ~3–6 months via the investment route
Dual allowedtrue
LanguageTurkish for standard naturalisation; none for the investment route
Residence5 years continuous residence (standard) or qualifying investment
NotesCBI requires ~US$400k in real estate (held 3 years) or set bank deposit/fixed-capital options.
Residence

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any residence / visa decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Openness to residents
Limited
44
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score combines how international the population already is (migrant stock at 45%), governance quality (regulatory quality at 25%), and the curated residence-pathway signal (30%). Available indicators are reweighted; the published values are shown below.

Migrant stock8.1% of population (2024)
Regulatory quality-0.21 (−2.5 to 2.5) (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Main pathways
Citizenship by InvestmentProperty/residence permitDigital NomadWork permit
StudentStudent residence permit; limited part-time work.
WorkWork permit tied to an employer; quotas for foreign staff.
Self-employedCompany formation straightforward; independent work permit available.
PermanentLong-term residence after 8 years; or citizenship via investment.

Money & business

Taxes

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any tax decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Tax friendliness
Moderate
56
Personal15–40% progressive
Corporate25%
Capital gainsUp to 40%; real-estate gains exempt after 5 years' holding
Dividends10% (reduced from 15%)
Exit taxNone standard
Foreign cosCFC rules apply
Personal tax

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any tax decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Personal tax
Low
27
Personal15–40% progressive
FreelanceIndependent work permit; company route common
Capital gainsUp to 40%; real-estate gains exempt after 5 years' holding
Dividends10% (reduced from 15%)
Exit taxNone standard
Corporate tax

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any tax decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Corporate tax
Low
29
Corporate25%
Capital gainsUp to 40%; real-estate gains exempt after 5 years' holding
Dividends10% (reduced from 15%)
Foreign cosCFC rules apply
Business
Business friendliness
Moderate
46
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score leans on the two things founders ask about most: the tax burden (headline corporate rate at 20%, broader tax friendliness at 15%, and freedom from exit-tax / CFC rules at 10%) plus the regulatory and bureaucratic environment (regulatory quality 15%, government effectiveness 15%), on top of the curated company-rules signal (25%). Available indicators are reweighted; the values are shown below.

Regulation & bureaucracy
Regulatory quality-0.21 (−2.5 to 2.5) (2024)
Government effectiveness-0.07 (−2.5 to 2.5) (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Rules & taxes
Foreign co.Yes: 100% foreign ownership permitted
Local co.A.Ş. or Ltd. Şti.; formation in days
FreelanceIndependent work permit; company route common
Corporate tax25%
Capital gainsUp to 40%; real-estate gains exempt after 5 years' holding
Exit taxNone standard
Foreign cosCFC rules apply
Investment

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any investment / tax decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Investing environment
Moderate
52
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score is mostly the investor-tax signal (capital-gains treatment, broker access, wealth tax, and ETF or other taxes on investment, 70%), lightly contextualised by equity-market depth (market cap / GDP at 18%) and credit depth (domestic credit to the private sector / GDP at 12%). Available indicators are reweighted.

Market cap28% of GDP (2024)
Private credit43% of GDP (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Capital gainsProperty gains exempt after 5 years; securities taxed variably
DividendsData not available yet
ETFs & fundsData not available yet
Wealth taxNone (property tax applies)
BrokersLocal brokers; foreign access via international platforms
Foreign accessData not available yet
Tax-advantagedData not available yet
Economy
Economic strength
Moderate
61
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score combines income level (GDP and GNI per capita, output per worker), growth momentum (real GDP growth), price stability (inflation) and labour utilisation (unemployment). Available indicators are reweighted; the sector split and industry profile below are descriptive, not scored.

Output & income
GDP$1.4T (2024)
GDP / person$15,893 (2024)
GNI / person$44,600 PPP (2024)
GDP growth3.3% / yr (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Stability & labour
Inflation58.5% / yr (2024)
Unemployment8.5% (2025)
Output per worker$93,115 PPP (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Sector composition
Agriculture5.8% of GDP (2024)
Industry25.5% of GDP (2024)
Services57.5% of GDP (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Main industries
ManufacturingAutomotiveTextiles & apparelConstructionTourismAgricultureDefence
Top exports
Vehicles & partsMachineryTextiles & apparelSteelAgricultural products
TypeUpper-middle-income, manufacturing- and export-led
Key sectorsManufacturing & automotive, Textiles, Tourism & construction
SummaryA diversified manufacturing and export economy bridging Europe and Asia, strained by high inflation.
CurrencyTurkish lira (history of high inflation and depreciation)
Wealth building

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any tax / investment decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Wealth accumulation
Moderate
59
How this score is calculated

How favourable Turkey is for building wealth: earnings and business/investment upside, tax drag, and how much a typical income keeps after living costs. Estimated from the factors below.

Salary & work
Moderate
50
Business
Moderate
49
Investment
Moderate
64
Tax friendliness
Moderate
56
Cost of living
Excellent
87

Living, study & work

Education
Education score
Excellent
80
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score combines attainment (expected schooling at 30% and mean schooling at 25%) with participation (tertiary enrolment at 25%) and public investment (government education spending at 20%). Available indicators are reweighted; tuition and study rules remain separate profile fields below.

Attainment
Expected schooling19.8 years (2023)
Mean schooling9.0 years (2023)

Source: UNDP Human Development Report 2025

Participation & investment
Tertiary enrolment106% gross (2023)
Education spending3.1% of GDP (2022)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Tuition$3,000–10,000 / yr
Public uniPublic universities low-cost; many English-taught programs
LanguagesTurkish, English (many programs)
Student workLimited part-time work for students
Salary & work
Labour-market strength
Moderate
59
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score combines output per worker (a proxy for wage potential at 40%), unemployment (35%) and labour-force participation (25%). Available indicators are reweighted; the curated profile fields remain below.

Output per worker$93,115 PPP (2024)
Unemployment8.5% (2025)
Participation54.4% of 15+ (2025)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Mean monthly earnings of employees
Overall$671 · $1,753 PPP (2024)
Tech (IT & comms)$1,065 · $2,784 PPP (2024)

Source: ILOSTAT (International Labour Organization)

FreelanceGrowing; many earn in foreign currency to hedge inflation
Job marketIstanbul is the economic & tech hub; gaming/startup scene active.
Cost of living
Affordability
Excellent
87

Our 0–100 affordability score is derived from the local consumer price level (World Bank, US = 100): the cheaper everyday prices are, the higher it scores. Lower price level means your money goes further here.

Price level38 (US = 100) (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Rent$400–900 (1BR Istanbul)
Monthly$900
CitiesIstanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Antalya
Buying power
Purchasing power score
Good
67
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score estimates how far money goes for the typical person here. It combines GNI per capita at PPP (30%) and actual household consumption per person at PPP (15%) with a price-advantage term from the local price level (25%) that rewards lower prices, then adjusts for income equality via the Gini index (20%), so unequal economies don't ride a high average, plus price stability via consumer inflation (10%). Available indicators are reweighted; it is a comparison, not a personal budget estimate.

GNI / person$44,600 PPP (2024)
Consumption / person$22,242 PPP (2024)
Price level38 (US = 100) (2024)
Income inequality43.7 Gini (2023)
Inflation58.5% / yr (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Quality of life

Safety
Safety & stability
Moderate
52
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score combines personal safety (intentional homicide rate at 35%), institutional quality (rule of law at 25% and control of corruption at 20%), and political stability and absence of violence (20%). Available indicators are reweighted; the published values are shown below. Always check current government travel and security advice before relocating.

Personal safety
Homicide rate3.2 per 100,000 (2023)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Institutions & stability
Rule of law-0.84 (−2.5 to 2.5) (2024)
Control of corruption-0.56 (−2.5 to 2.5) (2024)
Political stability-0.97 (−2.5 to 2.5) (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Healthcare
Healthcare score
Good
70
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score combines health outcomes (life expectancy at 25% and under-5 mortality at 20%) with system capacity (physicians at 20% and hospital beds at 15% per 1,000 people) and health spending per capita (20%). Available indicators are reweighted; the published values are shown below.

Outcomes
Life expectancy77.4 years (2024)
Under-5 mortality9.6 per 1,000 births (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Capacity & resourcing
Physicians2.24 per 1,000 (2022)
Hospital beds3.05 per 1,000 (2023)
Health spending$1,769 PPP / person (2023)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

System & costs
SystemUniversal public (SGK) + strong private/medical-tourism sector
InsuranceSGK for residents; private insurance common for permits
Avg costPrivate cover ~$300–800 / yr
Infrastructure
Infrastructure score
Good
74
How this score is calculated

The score combines digital access, resilience and download performance (30%), electricity access and network losses (30%), and transport infrastructure covering rail, logistics and aviation (40%). Available inputs are reweighted, but a country needs both digital and transport data to receive a score.

Digital infrastructure
Internet use89.8% (2025)
Internet resilience57 / 100 (2026)
Fixed speed71 / 100 download index (2026)
Mobile speed72 / 100 download index (2026)

Sources: World Bank World Development Indicators · Internet Society Pulse Internet Resilience Index

Utilities
Electricity access100.0% (2023)
Grid losses8.3% of output (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Transport
Transport quality3.40 / 5 (2022)
Rail density13.7 km / 1,000 km² (2021)
Air connectivity9,477 departures / million people (2023)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

HDI
Human development score
Excellent
85
How this score is calculated

The UN Human Development Index is the geometric mean of three dimension indices (a long and healthy life, knowledge, and a decent standard of living), shown on a 0–100 map scale (HDI × 100). The 2023 UNDP inputs behind each dimension are listed below.

HDI0.853 (2023)

Source: UNDP Human Development Report 2025

Long & healthy life
Life expectancy77.2 years (2023)

Source: UNDP Human Development Report 2025

Knowledge
Expected schooling19.8 years (2023)
Mean schooling9.0 years (2023)

Source: UNDP Human Development Report 2025

Standard of living
GNI / person$34,507 PPP (2023)

Source: UNDP Human Development Report 2025

Resources

Mock data for demonstration only. Not legal or tax advice.