Turkey enforcement files reach 26.3 million amid rising debt

Turkey is experiencing a significant rise in debt-related legal proceedings, with the total number of active enforcement and bankruptcy files reaching approximately 26.3 million. According to data from the National Judicial Network Project (UYAP), the number of open files increased by over 1.7 million within a single year.

New enforcement files filed between January 1 and late September 2026 also saw a year-on-year increase of approximately 1.3% to 2.3%. This trend reflects growing economic pressure on citizens, tradespeople, and industrial sectors, who are struggling with high production costs, financing difficulties, and high interest rates.

Banking sector data from the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) corroborates this rising debt load. Total loans used from banks increased by 35.6% over the last year, reaching 28.2 trillion lira. Concurrently, non-performing loans (debts in arrears) surged by 80.8%, rising from 484.8 billion lira to 876.5 billion lira.