German companies make up the largest community of the 28,500 foreign companies active in Turkey, followed by the United Kingdom with 2,345 firms and the Netherlands with 1,981 firms, according to figures published by the Economy Ministry at the end of September.

Most of the foreign investors have chosen to invest in Turkey’s wholesale and retail sectors, manufacturing industries and real estate.

Nearly 8,722 foreign firms work in the wholesale and retail sectors in Turkey, followed by 4,669 foreign firms active in the manufacturing industry and 4,582 foreign firms in the country’s real estate sector. Nearly 2,700 foreign firms work in the construction sector and approximately 2,559 foreign firms are currently active in the transportation, communication and storage sectors, according to the data.

Chemical products firms top the list of the foreign companies in Turkey’s manufacturing industry at 532, followed by 500 foreign firms active in the food and beverages sector and 461 foreign firms in the textile sector.

Foreign investors in Turkey have mostly invested in the country’s biggest cities of Istanbul, Antalya and Ankara, with Istanbul being the province that has attracted the most foreign firms. Nearly 15,854 foreign firms registered in Turkey operate in Istanbul, followed by Antalya with 3,423 foreign firms and Ankara with 1,850 foreign firms.

Out of 28,500 registered foreign companies in Turkey, nearly 77.7 percent are limited companies and 20 percent are incorporated companies. A total of 2.3 percent of the rest are composed of en commandite, collective and ordinary partnerships. Nearly 5,700 foreign firms work in the wholesale and retail sectors and 2,710 in the manufacturing industry sector. Nearly 2,400 foreign firms also operate in Istanbul’s real estate sector, according to the data.

Regarding the state of origin of the foreign firms operating in Turkey, 14,574 are from European Union member states, whereas 556 are from African countries. The United States currently has 1,176 foreign firms in the country. Some 5,719 firms are from near and Middle East countries in addition to 1,000 foreign firms from Azerbaijan. Turkey’s southeastern neighbor, Iran, has 1,945 firms active in Turkey, and southern neighbor Iraq has nearly 848 foreign firms in Turkey. Nearly 423 of the foreign firms in the country are from China.