Foreign Policy Report | Turkey

Mavi Boncuk | TURKEY
GDP growth: 7 percent


Unemployment rate: 9.1 percent


Upside: Turkey's economy has tripled in size over the last decade. Turkish officials are actually worried Turkey is growing too fast. Last month, Mehmet Yorukoglu, a Turkish central bank official,announced that the institution was trying to slow down growth to avoid imbalances between Turkey and trading partners such as Europe and the U.S. with weaker demand. "We have very good fundamentals at home," he explained. "The public sector finances are very healthy, the banking sector is very healthy, productivity and output growth is very strong, but demand imbalances between our economy and the economies we export to may create financial stability risks."


Downside: With all its growth, Turkey is beginning to look a lot like the United States -- before the financial crisis. Last week, Turkey's central bank rolled out measures to curb runaway bank lending. "Across the country, the signs of rampant consumer spending are on display," the Wall Street Journal wrote on Wednesday. "Huge billboards advertise advantageous loan rates for anything from cars and houses, to holidays and weddings. It isn't uncommon for middle-class Turks to have four or five credit cards."


G-20: Amazingly, in this time of economic turmoil in Europe, Turkey is still complaining about not being able to join the European Union. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said as much this week in an interview with Germany's Bild newspaper and in a press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. "Our membership would be a win for both sides," he explained. "We wouldn't be a burden but would take burdens away."


Above, people protest against the government's economic and labor policies on Oct. 8, 2011 in Ankara.