How can we reach the economic level of Germany?

How is it possible to compare the welfare level of our country with the welfare level of developed countries and reach their level? I wanted to investigate what we should do in our own country in order to reach the level of a prosperous country. 

For this purpose, I thought it was necessary to determine what are the similarities and differences between these two countries. 

I chose Germany as the most suitable country to find the right data and compare it with the data of our country. 

According to 2021 economic data, the population of both countries is approximately 83 million people. 

Germany's national income per capita is USD 41,502 for 2021. Turkey's national income for this period is approximately 8661 dollars. In other words, 5 Turks can only earn what 1 German citizen earns. 

2021 (January - November) 2021 Export figures 

Germany is 1,258.1 billion dollars and Turkey is 192.6 billion dollars. The difference can be calculated as 6.5 times. 

The unemployment rate is 5.1% in Germany and 11.2% in Turkey.

* End of Year estimation

Commercial Area

Germany, the country with the highest current account surplus in the world, exports automobiles as one of its top exports.

Germany is the strongest economy in Europe and the world's third largest export economy after China and the United States. Germany sold $1.4 trillion worth of goods and services worldwide, accounting for 8.2% of global exports. 

Germany's economy is one of the world's leading economies with a well-developed infrastructure, high R&D investment, a skilled workforce and a large capital stock. Germany has an economy with a current account surplus of approximately 300 billion dollars every year.

The first product that comes to mind when the German economy is mentioned is the automotive sector. The amount of automobiles sold by Germany to the whole world is 168 billion dollars. 

Germany is the leader of automotive production in Europe and the largest exporter of motor vehicles in the world thanks to its investments in the automobile industry after the Second World War. 

The German automobile industry is the most innovative and competitive in the world, but it is considered to be lagging behind in the electric car revolution of recent years. 

Some of the automobile brands that Germany exports are Mercedes Benz, BMW, Audi, Porsche and Volkswagen.

Automobile parts are Germany's second most exported product. Germany also produces and exports parts for many of the world's leading car brands. Some of the automobile parts exported by Germany include; sensors, electrical and electronic parts, glass, engine equipment, etc.

Germany's third largest export sector is pharmaceuticals with 48 billion dollars. Germany is also the largest exporter of pharmaceuticals in the world. The pharmaceutical industry in Germany has also been instrumental in the development of the country's health sector. The German pharmaceutical industry is the world's top pharmaceutical exporter, investing in the production and development of new medicines. 

The fact that the first vaccine of the Covid 19 process, which started in 2020, was produced in Germany by two Turkish scientists is not a stroke of luck. The production of this vaccine has been achieved through a planned, organized and rational approach over many years. Now the same scientists are working intensively to produce a cancer vaccine. 

In 2021, Germany sold only 9.35 billion euros in arms and military equipment. Despite the small number of German Armed Forces, Germany decided to allocate an additional 100 billion euros to its Armed Forces in 2022 due to the war between Ukraine and Russia. 

In the Energy Field 

In the first six months of 2022, Germany generated a total of 298 billion KWh of electricity. In the first half of 2022, Germany generated 49 percent of its electricity, or 146 billion KWh, from renewable sources. With this average, we can evaluate that Germany will generate 596 billion KWh of electricity annually and 292 billion KWh of electricity from renewable energy sources. 

According to December 2020 data, Germany has the 4th largest solar power plants in the world with 53.78 MW installed capacity. In the same list, our country has 8,275 MW installed solar power plants according to June 2022 data.  

The table below lists the 49 countries with the most solar power plants worldwide.

According to the 6-month electricity production data of 2022, Germany will produce 2 times more electricity than our country with approximately 596 billion KWh. 

According to preliminary data published by the German Energy Industry Association, BDEW and Research Institute ZSW, solar panels, wind turbines, biogas plants and other installations met 49 percent of the electricity demand in Germany in the first half of 2022. 

According to 2020 data, the countries of Norway, Iceland and Albania are generating all or even more of their electricity from renewable energy sources. 

According to 2021 data, Turkey's electricity generation is 334.7 billion kilowatt hours per year. 

The 292 billion KWh of electricity that Germany will generate from renewable energy sources is close to the 334.7 billion KWh of electricity that Turkey generates in a year.  

Germany, which is located further north than our country, produces 6 times more renewable energy than us, although it receives less sun than our country. 

Germany also aims to increase renewable energy production to 85% in energy production by 2040 with the laws it has enacted, thus reducing dependence on Russian natural gas and oil and reducing carbon emissions. 

According to data from the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, in 2021, 30.9% of our electricity generation was from coal, 33.2% from natural gas, 16.7% from hydroelectric power plants, 9.4% from wind, 4.2% from solar, 3.2% from geothermal energy and 2.4% from other sources. 

According to 2021 data, Turkey generated 56.8 billion KWh of electricity, equivalent to 16.8% of its annual energy production, from renewable energy sources. 

Education, Brain Drain, Science and Technology 

According to 2021 data, the average age of the German population is 44.5 years. Turkey has a much younger population than Germany with an average age of 32.7. 

In the list of Countries with the Highest Level of Education, the top 3 countries are China, Hong Kong and Finland respectively. 

https://www.egiteknoloji.com/egitim-seviyesi-en-yuksek-ulke-listesi-2019.html

In this list, Germany ranks 14th, Germany 37th, Greece 41st and Turkey 41st. 

The number of doctors who get a good conduct certificate from our country and go to Germany or other countries is increasing.  While the number of doctors leaving used to be at the level of general practitioners, the number of specialist doctors has increased significantly. 

In addition to economic reasons, there are comments in the media that the main reason for their departure is the attacks and violence against doctors and health personnel. 

In the number of papers published in the field of science and engineering in 2018, Germany ranked 4th with 104,396 articles and papers, behind China, the USA and India. 

With 33,536 articles and papers, Turkey ranks 17th after Iran and Poland. 

In the Field of Social Assistance 

In Germany, the government has decided to provide support to its citizens for the year 2023. 

With 2023, Germany has started to take steps to support its people more and more every day. In addition, public expenditures have been completely cut in order to reduce the impact of the crises that have developed due to the effects of the Ukraine-Russia war and the price increases in oil, natural gas and agricultural products, as well as the above-average inflation in the country and all over the world as a result of Covid-19, which affects the world for 2020. Both the prime minister and ministers take turns to use an airplane. Private meetings or business are never conducted by state airplane. There is only one plane belonging to the Presidency and it is used in turn. 

Apart from the President, Prime Minister and Ministers, no one has a "special service vehicle" or an armored Mercedes, despite the fact that Germany is the world's largest car manufacturer. 

In the New Year, all those living legally in Germany received new financial support, new inflation protection increases (compensation) and new tax cuts. 

It has also decided to pay inflation compensation to its employees for 2023. 

In the Fight Against Inflation 

Citizen's Allowance:

The Citizen's Allowance per person in the family of an unemployed person has been increased to 502 euros (around 10,000 Turkish liras). A family with two children under 18 will receive a net benefit of 1400 Euros (28,000 TL). They will also receive a child allowance of 500 euros (around 10,000 Turkish liras). With rent, fuel allowance, radio-TV tax support, the net monthly benefit will increase to 2500 Euros (50 thousand TL). Moreover, all newcomers to the country, Ukrainians, Syrians, Afghans, will benefit from these benefits. 

Inflation Compensation:

Germany will pay inflation compensation to its citizens. According to the law published in the Official Gazette on October 25, 2022, as of October 1, 2022, employers will pay their employees "inflation compensation" up to 3000 Euros (approximately 60 thousand TL) per person. For this, the employer and the employee must agree. The payment can be made all at once or in installments until December 31, 2024. The payment will be tax-free and social deductible. The employer will be able to deduct it from taxes. The payslip must clearly state that this money is "inflation compensation" (Inflationsausgleichsprämie). 

Child allowance:

The child allowance, which is paid to each family regardless of income, has been increased to 250 Euros (5 thousand TL). This is an increase of 31 Euros for each child. Child allowance is paid until the end of university and graduate school. In other words, this money is deposited into the account of the family or the child until the average age of 25. 

Residence Allowance:

Until now, the residence allowance, which is the basic support for low-earning tenants, has been increased from €190 to €370. Those in this situation will receive a "rent and housing allowance" of €370 per month upon application. For those who have no income at all or who work in small jobs and earn up to 520 euros a month, the state already pays "all rent". 

Tax Reduction:

Taxable earnings rates have been reduced. With the reduction, a person's annual income will be relieved by approximately 1700 Euros. The annual taxable earnings rate of 42 percent has been increased from 58,587 euros to 62,827 euros. In 2024, this figure will be €66,779. The change will be automatically reflected in the payslip. 

The amount of tax-exempt annual earnings is now €10,908.

Energy Subsidy:

A ceiling has been introduced on energy prices, which have risen due to the war. Accordingly, as of March, the price of electricity for 80 percent of consumption will not exceed 40 cents. For gas, the maximum price will be 12 cents. If electricity and gas prices rise, the state will cover the difference and the consumer will be protected. 

Even if people migrate to Germany from particularly poor countries of the world, even if they do not have any job, Germany is the country that receives the highest number of immigrants with a monthly income of 2500 Euros. 

5 million Germans come to Turkey every year as tourists and spend their vacations in our country.  

This year, this number is expected to increase even more due to the natural gas cuts and the ongoing war. 

According to official data, the population of Germany is 83 million, of which 20 million 800 thousand people have a migrant background. While it is stated that 4 million 300 thousand people of foreign origin living in Germany are citizens of EU countries, it is stated that the Turks take the first place with the number of 1 million 493 thousand among the nations of foreign origin living in the country. 

Conclusion 

Like Germany, it is imperative for our country to work in the fields of industry and trade, energy diversity and the increase of renewable energy sources. It may be possible to shift the interest in tourism to other areas by investing more in education, science and new technologies. 

For this purpose, the first goal should be to increase our country's electricity production to 450 billion KWh and to obtain 50% of this production from renewable energy sources. For this, we do not need to find new natural gas and oil. Every region of our country is in a solar belt. 

The use of energy produced from renewable energy sources in the field of industry and production, such as TOGG, which means qualified product, primarily in the automotive industry and the use of robot technologies in many different fields will further increase our chances of competition as it will reduce labor and energy costs.  

Hydroelectric or nuclear energy solutions should be considered in areas where it is not possible to use renewable energy in heavy industry such as the Steel Industry.

Robots will work in summer and winter, day and night, weekends and holidays, almost exclusively for the cost of electricity. This will enable the production of better quality products in a shorter time and at a cheaper price, and will also help to create world-class Turkish brands. 

Combining the latest production techniques such as Industry 4.0 with specialized and trained manpower and developing new technologies in the field of production and industry with R&D will also bring innovations in many different fields to our country. 

With the development of new technologies in the fields of industry, science and production, our country will become a center of engineers, i.e. human and scientists who are compatible with these new technologies, where newer technologies are produced with both educated manpower and universities. 

The resources that Turkey needs to export should be value-added products produced by all segments of society working together instead of the people it has trained. For this purpose, we must first utilize our unemployed population and train our young people for these purposes and goals. 

This course of action will not only benefit our country, but will also have a positive impact on the poor and migration-prone countries and their populations around us. 

The increase in Turkey's export products and the fact that these products are qualified products with added value will increase export figures 2-3 times. With this increase in exports, our annual national income per capita will increase to 30-40 thousand dollars in the first stage. 

The brain drain from our country to other countries will be reversed and with the brain drain from other developed countries to our country, our country will start to develop more and to gather the educated manpower that we call the upper class. 

In such a situation, our country will become a model not only for tourism and natural beauties, but also for industry, technology, science, education and culture. 

Today, the reasons for the attractiveness of the USA, Germany, the UK and France are not their natural, historical and tourism beauties. The USA has almost no history.  These countries are popular and interesting because of the social opportunities they create. 

Those who want historical beauties can go to countries like Egypt, Iran, Iraq and Syria. But the people living there are in a constant rush to migrate to countries such as the USA, Germany, France and the UK. 

The industrialized countries of the world have started to make intensive efforts to reduce carbon emissions and to use water resources more efficiently. Glaciers are melting rapidly and the ecological order is changing, and the average temperature of the world continues to rise every year. It is obvious that the most important problem of the coming years will be the problem of potable water. 

In order for our country's people to be minimally affected by climate change in the future, to live healthy, to be fed and to continue to grow our own vital needs of food and livestock, we must use less carbon-based products such as oil. 

As nations of the world, especially in developed countries, renewable energy will be used more intensively in industrialization and production in all areas of our lives.

The development of electric and hybrid cars is therefore becoming more and more important. 

References:

https://tuerkei.diplo.de/tr-tr/themen/wirtschaft/-/2079162

https://www.enerjiatlasi.com/ulkelere-gore-gunes-enerjisi.html

https://temizenerji.org/2022/07/12/almanya-2022nin-ilk-yarisinda-elektriginin-yaklasik-yarisini-yenilenebilir-kaynaklardan-sagladi/

https://www.iklimhaber.org/yenilenebilirler-2022nin-ilk-yarisinda-almanyanin-elektrik-ihtiyacinin-yarisini-karsiladi/amp/

https://www.sozcu.com.tr/2022/ekonomi/almanya-turkiyeden-kotu-durumda-mi-7171106/amp/

https://www.herkesebilimteknoloji.com/haberler/surdurulebilirlik/nukleer-enerjiden-cikan-almanyada-ruzgar-gunes-enerjilerinden-elektrik-uretiminde-buyuk-atilim-ulkemizdeki-durumla-karsilastirma

https://www.egiteknoloji.com/egitim-seviyesi-en-yuksek-ulke-listesi-2019.html