Turkey spent over $9.4 billion on environmental protection in 2017, the country's statistical body announced yesterday.

"Out of total environmental protection expenditure, 57.7 percent was realized by financial and non-financial corporations, 35 percent was realized by general government and non-profit institutions serving households and 7.3 percent was realized by households," the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) said.

Waste management received the biggest share of spending at 49 percent, followed by wastewater management services which accounted for 35 percent.

The total environmental protection investment expenditure stood at around $1.6 billion last year.

TurkStat added that 62 percent out of total environmental protection investment spending was realized by financial and non-financial corporations, while the government's share was 38 percent.

"While environmental protection investment expenditure was TL 2.6 billion [$712 million] for wastewater management services and TL 1.3 billion for waste management services, it was TL 2 billion for other domains," it added.

The institute reported that the share of environmental protection expenditure as a percentage of GDP was 1.11 percent last year, compared to 1.06 percent in 2016.