The Turkish budget registered a deficit of TL 139.26 billion ($3.84 billion) in January, official data showed on Monday.
The figure shrank from a TL 829.2 billion shortfall in December, the Treasury and Finance Ministry report said.
Last month, budget revenues totaled TL 917.1 billion, while expenditures reached TL 1.1 trillion.
Excluding interest payments, the budget posted a surplus of TL 23.76 billion lira, the ministry said.
Non-interest expenditures amounted to TL 893.3 billion, with interest payments hitting TL 163 billion. The report showed that tax revenues came in at TL 792.7 billion.
The budget deficit amounted to nearly TL 2.11 trillion last year, driven by high inflation and increases in spending due to election-related expenditures and the aftermath of a devastating earthquake.
The primary deficit stood at TL 835.7 billion.
The overall gap rose about 50% from TL 1.4 trillion in 2023.
Although the gross domestic product data for the entire 2024 has yet to be released, economists estimate that the budget deficit represented approximately 4.8% of GDP.
Türkiye maintained a ratio of around 1% from 2013 to 2016, supported by low public debt, seen as a crucial factor that ensured market stability.
However, the shortfall steadily expanded, reaching 3.5% of GDP in 2020 and ending 2021 at 2.8%. It came in below 1% in 2022, compared to the 3.5% target.
In 2023, escalating expenditures, particularly those related to the aftermath of devastating earthquakes that struck the southern region in February of that year, pushed the deficit to approximately 5.4% of GDP.
The government projects a reduction to around 3% of GDP for 2025, citing anticipated decreases in quake-related spending.
