According to an İGEME report on the software sector, the information technologies services market grew to $1.9 billion in 2008, and its share in overall information technology amounted to 24 percent. While the growth rate of the information technologies sector stands at more than 20 percent, the software sector is estimated to have grown by about 40 percent.
Even though a rise was seen in the number of firms operating in this sector in recent years, the number of producers and exporting firms remains limited. Of a total of 3,500 firms operating in the sector, only about 100 firms export goods. The firms are mainly concentrated in İstanbul and Ankara.
The total exports of the software sector amounted to $13 billion in 2008. However, this figure does not fully reflect the reality and potential of the sector, as software goods mainly exported as a part of machines, electronic products, automotives, medical goods or hardware are not included. Turkish software goods and services are exported to about 90 countries, a number that is anticipated to increase steadily. The report noted important export countries as Germany, the UK, Kazakhstan, the US, Greece, Libya, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Romania, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Iraq and France.
Like in other high-tech sectors, Turkey's software sector remains a net importer of goods, the report stated, adding that the import level of the sector exceeded $117 billion in 2008. While a significant rise was seen in imports, the rate of exports over imports was reported to be about 10 percent. Turkey's software imports mainly come from Ireland, Germany, the US, China, Sweden, the UK, France, the UAE, Japan, Malaysia, Austria, the Netherlands, Poland, Israel and Spain.
The information technologies market climbed to 963.5 billion euros worldwide in 2008 with a growth rate of approximately 5.2 percent, while the worldwide software sector market reached 184 billion euros and grew 6.7 percent in 2008, the report stated. According to the İGEME data, the software sector was the only global sector which continued to grow despite the global financial crisis in 2008. However, the sector's growth rate is predicted to undergo a slight decrease in 2009 due to the crisis, the report indicated.
