President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said Türkiye will “move up to a higher league†in science and technology. This article reviews the public pledge in context, examines current indicators and programmes, and outlines the structural obstacles and policy levers that will determine whether Türkiye can substantially raise its standing in global science and technology metrics.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s recent statement that “Türkiye will move up to a higher league in science and technology,†reported in Turkish and international media, highlights a renewed emphasis on upgrading the country’s research, development and innovation (RDI) ecosystem. The pronouncement, delivered in the context of government policy events, reflects long-standing ambitions to transform Türkiye’s economy from lower-value manufacturing and commodities into a knowledge-intensive model driven by technology and high-skilled services.
At face value, the declaration signals an intent to accelerate public and private action on science and technology. For policymakers and stakeholders, such political signalling is important: it can prioritise budget allocations, mobilise agencies and serve as a focal point for national initiatives. But translating a political statement into measurable improvement on global indicators requires sustained resources, institutional reform and private-sector dynamism.
Internationally, countries are commonly assessed by metrics such as gross domestic spending on research and development (R&D) as a percentage of GDP, patent filings and citations, the Global Innovation Index (GII), university rankings, high-tech exports and venture capital flows. Türkiye performs unevenly across these measures: it has a large and relatively young population with growing numbers of STEM graduates and a vibrant startup scene, yet public R&D intensity and patenting rates lag behind major OECD economies.
Several widely used indicators help to situate Türkiye’s position in global science and technology:
Türkiye already has a suite of institutions and programmes intended to advance science and technology. Key elements include:
The private sector’s role is decisive for any meaningful upgrade in science and technology capabilities. Türkiye’s industrial base includes large conglomerates that have increased their in-house R&D and multinational firms that operate local R&D centres. At the same time, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) — which make up a large share of employment and output — often lack capacity to absorb or produce advanced technologies without targeted support.
Venture capital and angel investment have expanded in recent years, producing unicorns and high-growth firms in fintech, e-commerce and mobility. However, the ecosystem still faces constraints:
Several structural challenges will shape whether Türkiye can move into a higher bracket on science and technology rankings:
Experts and analysts point to a mix of opportunity and hard work ahead.
“Political commitment is a necessary first step but not sufficient. Sustained increases in R&D funding, stronger linkages between universities and industry, and targeted incentives for scale-ups are required to move the needle on international rankings,†said a senior independent technology policy analyst with experience advising governments in the region.
“Türkiye’s demographic advantages and growing digital market are assets. The critical task is to convert human capital and market size into R&D intensity and globally competitive products — that demands long-term public-private partnerships and access to patient capital,†said a technology investor with regional portfolio experience.
These anonymous expert remarks reflect themes that appear consistently in comparative research on innovation-led development. For international comparisons and policy recommendations, see analyses by organisations such as the OECD Science, Technology and Innovation directorate and the World Bank.
Countries that have successfully upgraded their science and technology profiles in recent decades often combined several elements:
Examples frequently cited in policy literature include South Korea’s long-term push in R&D from the 1970s onwards, Singapore’s focused investments in higher education and anchor institutions, and Israel’s cultivation of university-linked incubators and military-to-civil technology transfer. Each model reflects different political economies and should not be transplanted wholesale; nevertheless, common lessons on sustained investment, coherent strategy and private-sector engagement are instructive.
To move “to a higher league,†options for Turkish policymakers include:
Policymakers should track a range of indicators beyond headline R&D spending to capture inputs, processes and outputs:
Publicly available international datasets such as the OECD R&D data, the WIPO patent statistics, the Global Innovation Index, and UNESCO or World Bank indicators provide comparative benchmarks.
Raising ambition carries risks if implementation falls short. Political signals can raise expectations among universities, startups and investors. If budget promises are not met or incentives are unstable, that expectation gap may erode trust. Some specific risks include:
Real progress would be visible across multiple dimensions over a sustained period:
President Erdoğan’s declaration that Türkiye will “move up to a higher league in science and technology†encapsulates a policy aspiration shared by many governments seeking to transition to knowledge-intensive economies. Türkiye has strengths — a large, youthful population, expanding higher education and an increasingly dynamic startup ecosystem — that provide foundations for such a move. But achieving a sustained rise in international science and technology rankings requires more than rhetoric: it demands stable, multi-year increases in R&D funding, better institutional coordination, stronger university–industry collaboration, and policies that retain and attract high-skilled researchers while catalysing private capital for scale-ups.
Comparative experience suggests that coherent strategy, patient financing and implementation capacity are the decisive factors. If Türkiye’s political commitment is converted into transparent, predictable and well-targeted policies, the country can plausibly increase its scientific and technological stature over a decade. The alternative — intermittent initiatives without long-term funding and coordination — will likely yield only limited movement in global indicators and missed opportunities for economic upgrading.
Disclaimer: This article is based on publicly available information and does not represent investment or legal advice.
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