The two-year balance sheet for public-sector savings has been unveiled
Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek announced the results of the savings program implemented to strengthen fiscal discipline in public spending. According to the figures Şimşek provided, the measures implemented in 2024 and 2025 generated total savings of TL 484 billion at current prices.
In a statement on his social media account, Şimşek said public-sector savings policies had delivered results and announced that the resources generated would be directed toward priority areas.
The scale of the announced TL 484 billion figure stood out in a comparison with the 2026 ministry budgets. The savings exceeded the combined 2026 budgets of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Ministry of Industry and Technology, and Ministry of Trade.
The savings program was introduced in 2024
The foundation of the public-sector savings drive was the Circular on Savings Measures issued in 2024.
Under the circular, restrictions and controls were introduced for numerous categories of spending at public institutions, from vehicle use and service buildings to purchases of fixed assets and energy consumption.
Earthquake-related spending and mandatory areas were excluded from the measures, while some other appropriations were cut and mechanisms for monitoring public institutions' spending were strengthened.
Unlike previous savings programs, monitoring, reporting, auditing and sanction mechanisms were also put in place so that implementation would not be limited to the issuance of a circular.
Spending by 260 public administrations is being monitored
Data on public institutions' implementation of the measures is monitored centrally through the Savings Measures Information System established within the Ministry of Treasury and Finance.
The system monitors data entry and reporting on savings measures by 260 public administrations.
The ministry is also continuing its inspections of the measures' implementation in the field. To date, inspections have been conducted at 2,016 spending units. The inspection reports prepared have been shared with the Presidency and the relevant public administrations.
The share of spending in the budget fell from 4.6% to 2.9%
One of the key indicators of the program's impact was the decline in the share of spending covered by the Circular on Savings Measures in the budget.
Excluding interest and earthquake-related spending, the long-term average share of this spending in the budget stood at 4.6%.
The rate fell to:
3.1% in 2024,
and 2.9% in 2025.
Calculations by the Ministry of Treasury and Finance put the two-year financial value of this decline at approximately TL 484 billion at current prices.
TL 484 billion also exceeded the projected cost of the sliding-scale system
The savings amount was also compared with the sliding-scale system used by the government to limit the impact of rising energy prices on consumers.
The system, introduced because of geopolitical developments and rising oil prices, is projected to reduce public revenues by approximately TL 372 billion at today's prices by the end of 2026.
Accordingly, the TL 484 billion in savings announced for 2024–2025 exceeds the system's calculated financial impact of TL 372 billion.
Şimşek highlights fiscal discipline and disinflation
Minister Şimşek said the savings policies should not be viewed solely as short-term spending cuts and conveyed that the more efficient use of public resources would be made permanent.
Şimşek said strengthening fiscal discipline and using resources effectively and efficiently were the main priorities, adding that savings measures and spending controls would continue resolutely.
While the fiscal space created through savings is planned to be transferred to priority areas, the government aims for the policy to also support the disinflation process.
Thus, the first two-year balance sheet of the public-sector savings program, implemented comprehensively in 2024, was announced as TL 484 billion, while the Ministry of Treasury and Finance signaled that spending discipline would continue in the period ahead.
