The Western Turkish Region of Thrace

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Istanbul Technical University - ARITechnoPark

The Thrace region is located in the North-West of Turkey covering 24,098 sq km, constituting 2.96% of the landmass of Turkey. It stretches from Greek and Bulgarian borders on the North West end of Turkey, northern part of Çanakkale and the Marmara Sea on the south west, Black Sea on the east and Kocaeli on the south. The region has a population of almost 12 million people, 16.77% of the country population in Edirne, Kirklareli, Tekirdag and Istanbul. 91% of the population lives in Istanbul, the commercial metropolis in Turkey. 30% of the active business enterprises and 34.5% of the working population are located in Thrace. There are 12,750 Small and Medium Enterprises active in the region and average GDP per capita is $3,024, very close to the average in Turkey which is $3,044.

Thrace is on the transit route between Europe and Asia minor and served as a portal since 500 BC. This is why the transportation facilities in the region constitute a high advantage in trading with Europe. The Trans-European highway and the railway pass through all four cities; there are three airports, Atatürk and Sabiha Gökçen in Istanbul and Çorlu in Tekirdag and there are three harbours, Ambarli and Haydarpasa in Istanbul and Tekirdag.

Thrace is a region of tourist attraction due to its rich history and geographic beauty of beaches and rivers. After the Balkan wars and establishment of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, industrial investments have started with textile in the region. Istanbul has become the main centre of industry residing 35% of all the industrial investments in the country. Recent development of textile enterprises in Çorlu has contributed in the average growth of 5% in the region, since 1981. Although the Kocaeli earthquake in 1999 has caused economic damages resulting in growth falling to 2%, it was recovered fast. Food processing, oil products, rubber, metal ware, leather, chemicals, electronics, glass, machinery, alcoholic products, paper and paper products are among the major industrial products in the region. Istanbul also has plants that assemble automobiles and trucks as well as white and brown household manufacturing factories.

Thrace has become the exportation centre of Turkey and currently contributes 41% of all taxes collected in Turkey and produces 28% of Turkey's national product. In the last ten years, establishment of twenty two foundation Universities and three techno-cities in the region shows the regional enthusiasm in increasing the competitive index.

TUSIAD-Sabanci University Competitiveness Forum

Thrace includes the major cities of Edirne, Kirklareli, Tekirdag and Western Istanbul. About 16.77% of the population resides in the Thrace region where 23.8% of the GDP is produced and also includes 30% of the active business enterprises and 34.5% of the working population. Istanbul is considered as the number one leading city in terms of the development index calculated by the SPO. The immigration from Bulgaria and Bosnia has had an impact on the social and cultural level of the region.

The highest GDP per Capita is in Kirklareli, which is the city with the smallest population and lowest industrialisation. Istanbul is the biggest city in Turkey with almost the highest unemployment percentage. On the contrary, Istanbul owns the highest number of manufacturing plants and leads in import and export activities. It is striking that the electricity utilisation per person is higher than the national average. The variety of industries is reflected in electricity utilisation. In Tekirdag the high number owes to the textile production centre in Corlu, where majority of the population is employed. In Kirklareli, where population is too low, there is machinery manufacturing.

The biggest industry in Turkey is food and beverages followed by textile, garments and leather. However, the number of SME is higher in the textile sector with 40.5% established in the Thrace region. Besides textile, 37% of paper products, 33% of chemical products and 30 % of metallic products are manufactured by SMEs in this region. Edirne, Kirklareli and Tekirdag show a significant development in the service sector whereas Istanbul shows a considerable growth in manufacturing industries as well as the service sector. Incorporation of Istanbul increases the percentage of manufacturing companies in the region to 59% and service companies to 38%. Both representatives of electronic house-ware and automotive industries exist in Istanbul.

TUBITAK - Mamara Research Centre

About 20% of all Turkish researchers reside in Thrace owing to the number of Universities in the region. The TUBITAK headquarters and the Gebze Technology Institute also contribute to the number of researchers since they are located in the south of Istanbul. This is a great opportunity upon which the region can capitalise since it accounts for a high knowledge level.

The Thrace region covers the combination of two statistical regions in Turkey: Istanbul and Edirne-Kirklareli-Tekirdag. Socio-economic development analysis realised by the State Planning Organisation (SPO, 2003) ranks all twenty six regions of statistics amongst themselves, where Istanbul ranks first and Edirne-Kirklareli-Tekirdag ranks third. 14 of the first 25 manufacturing companies in Turkey are located in Istanbul.

There are seven state universities with 190,000 students and fifteen foundation universities with 80, 491 students. More than 17% of all higher education in Turkey is given in Istanbul.

The majority of the companies are of an SME size with only 11.4% of companies in the Thrace region considered innovative although the average in Turkey was 30% in 2004. However, significant improvement has taken place in 2005.

Chambers of commerce, chambers of industry, business organisations and professional associations have impact on both innovation policies and knowledge absorbers. The most influential ones, like TOBB and TUSIAD, are therefore represented in the Innovation Governance.

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