Türkiye's total cultural expenditures skyrocketed by 83.3% in 2024, reaching 408 billion 339 million Turkish Lira (TRY), according to data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) on Monday.

This spending represented 0.9% of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP) for the year.

The figures reveal a significant nationwide investment in culture, split nearly evenly between the public and private sectors. General government expenditures accounted for 49.1% of the total, or 200.4 billion TRY—a 76.1% increase from 2023. The central government budget financed 67.8% of this public spending, with the largest share (17.7%) directed toward cultural heritage.

On the private side, household cultural expenditures saw an even sharper rise of 91.5%, climbing to 203.8 billion TRY. Household spending was led by purchases of information processing equipment (25.0%), followed by cultural services (24.3%) and books (18.1%).

The cultural sector demonstrated robust economic activity. The value added at factor cost for cultural enterprises grew by 73.9% to 188.5 billion TRY. Leading contributors included enterprises in printing and reproduction of recorded media (20.7%), motion picture and television production (13.1%), and architectural activities (11.6%).

International trade in cultural goods showed a dramatic shift. While exports increased modestly by 8.1% to $9.9 billion, imports surged by a staggering 166% to $7.3 billion. Notably, the handicrafts domain led both export and import volumes. Despite the import spike, cultural goods maintained a positive trade balance, with exports constituting 4.2% of Türkiye's total goods exports.

Cultural employment also expanded, rising by 6.5% to 957,000 individuals, representing 2.9% of total national employment. The sector neared gender parity, with 52.2% male and 47.8% female workers. Educational attainment was high, with 45.4% of cultural employees being higher education graduates.

Handicraft workers formed the largest occupational group at 32.6%, followed by architects, planners, and designers (19.2%), and authors, journalists, and linguists (8.2%). Gender distribution varied widely by profession, with other language teachers having the highest female employment rate (77.7%) and artistic associate professionals the lowest (28.2%).

The data underscores a year of substantial growth and increased economic activity across Türkiye's cultural landscape, driven by both substantial public investment and vigorous private consumption. (ILKHA)