Turkey and COVID-19: Balancing Health and Economic Priorities

Turkey's response to COVID-19 combined travel restrictions, selective lockdowns, and high testing capacity, supported by a young population and a developed healthcare system. However, the document notes that official statistics may be unreliable due to limited freedom of expression and government control over information. Vulnerable groups, including migrants and the Kurdish population in the southeast, faced specific challenges regarding healthcare access and information dissemination. Economically, the government implemented a USD 15.4 billion stimulus package to mitigate the pandemic's impact and stabilize the economy.

• Turkey's ability to contain the pandemic was significantly aided by its demographic profile and healthcare infrastructure, specifically a relatively low median age of 31.5 years and a high number of intensive care unit beds per person compared to the US, China, and many European countries.
• The reliability of official COVID-19 data is questioned due to the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government's restrictions on freedom of expression and the prohibition of local governments from releasing infection numbers in their own jurisdictions.
• Turkey's lockdown strategy was geographically and demographically targeted rather than nationwide, focusing on large cities and specific groups such as those over 65, the chronically ill, and those under 20, with a brief four-day nationwide lockdown during the Eid al-Fitr holiday in May 2020.
• To prevent economic collapse and maintain political support, the government introduced an 'Economic Stability Shield' stimulus package worth USD 15.4 billion, alongside tax reductions and postponed debt payments for 11 key sectors.
• Migrant and refugee populations, numbering five million, faced severe secondary impacts of the pandemic; while 84% received information via social media, 81% reported that access to basic goods like food, water, and hygiene materials was severed.
• The Kurdish population in southeast Turkey experienced higher vulnerability due to poor healthcare infrastructure and language barriers, as preventive measure billboards and the Ministry of Health website were not provided in Kurdish.
• The government's approach to prison management during the pandemic involved the temporary release of approximately 45,000 prisoners on 7 April, but explicitly excluded political prisoners, journalists, and academics.

APA

Tank, P. (2020). Turkey and COVID-19: Balancing Health and Economic Priorities. Peace Research Institute Oslo. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/05aaa32a-1650-402f-b34e-0522e5bb70c3/Tank Pinar - Turkey and COVID-19 Balancing Health and Economic Priorities MidEast Policy Brief 04-2020.pdf?inline=true

Chicago

Tank, Pinar. Turkey and COVID-19: Balancing Health and Economic Priorities. Peace Research Institute Oslo, 2020. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/05aaa32a-1650-402f-b34e-0522e5bb70c3/Tank Pinar - Turkey and COVID-19 Balancing Health and Economic Priorities MidEast Policy Brief 04-2020.pdf?inline=true.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Tank |first1=Pinar |title=Turkey and COVID-19: Balancing Health and Economic Priorities |publisher=Peace Research Institute Oslo |date=April 2020 |url=https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/05aaa32a-1650-402f-b34e-0522e5bb70c3/Tank Pinar - Turkey and COVID-19 Balancing Health and Economic Priorities MidEast Policy Brief 04-2020.pdf?inline=true |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{tank2020turkey, author = {Tank, Pinar}, title = {{Turkey and COVID-19: Balancing Health and Economic Priorities}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, year = {2020}, month = apr, url = {https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/05aaa32a-1650-402f-b34e-0522e5bb70c3/Tank Pinar - Turkey and COVID-19 Balancing Health and Economic Priorities MidEast Policy Brief 04-2020.pdf?inline=true}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }