Global international institutions and organizations have not stopped counting the material losses of the two earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria last February.

On the sixth of last February, an earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale struck southern Turkey and northern Syria, followed by another with a magnitude of 7.6 and thousands of violent aftershocks, killing tens of thousands of people and leaving huge material damage.

From that day until early March, more than 11,400 aftershocks occurred, according to what was monitored by seismological institutions in Turkey and neighboring countries.

World Bank estimates

The preliminary report of the World Bank - which was issued at the end of last month - is the latest announcement by these international institutions and organizations regarding the material losses suffered by Turkey as a result of the two earthquakes.

The World Bank stated that its estimates indicate that the two devastating earthquakes cost $ 34.2 billion in material damage, or about 4% of the gross domestic product for the year 2021.

The Director of the World Bank's office in Turkey, Humberto Lopez, said that the bank will also review its expectations for a decrease in the Turkish gross domestic product for the year 2023, due to the losses that the earthquake will cause to the economy, as it will reduce growth estimates this year from 4% to 3.5%.

More than half of the costs stemmed from residential buildings, the World Bank said, adding that extensive damage to infrastructure, including railways, highways and bridges, had also been taken into account.


The analysis excludes indirect or secondary effects of earthquakes, as "recovery and construction costs can multiply when factoring in other factors such as price increases and the cost of emergency response."

According to data provided by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the earthquakes caused massive damage in 62 districts and 10,190 villages in the affected region's wilayats, and that the tremors are still continuing.

Search and rescue efforts have ended, while rubble removal activities have begun in the stricken cities, using thousands of construction equipment and trucks working to remove rubble.

Various estimates of the losses of the Turkey earthquake

Reports about the impact of the disaster vary widely:

  • Earlier this month, Bloomberg Economics announced that earthquake losses could reach 1% of GDP.

  • In contrast, US bank JP Morgan said in a report last month that the direct costs of destroying physical structures could reach $25 billion, or 2.5% of the country's GDP.

  • Business groups and economists have also said that rebuilding could cost Turkey sums of up to $100 billion, deducting between one and two percentage points from the country's expected economic growth in the current year 2023.

  • In the middle of last month, the Federation of Companies and Businesses in Turkey estimated the damage at $84 billion, or the equivalent of 10% of the country's gross product.

    According to the federation's statement, the devastating earthquake caused damage to residential buildings by about $70.8 billion, along with another $10.4 billion in loss of national income, in addition to labor force losses that could cost Turkey's economy $2.9 billion, as the earthquake struck 10 provinces and severely affected over millions of people in Turkey, as well as in neighboring Syria.


The calculations of the Turkish Federation of Companies and Businesses were based on the 1999 earthquake, which was close to Istanbul, and claimed the lives of about 18,000 people, as the death toll from the current disaster exceeded by a large margin the 1999 earthquake.

  • The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development said that the potential economic repercussions of the earthquake could result in a decline of 1% of the country's gross domestic product during this year.

    This ratio is equivalent to about $9 billion, compared to an official estimate of the expected gross domestic product value of $867 billion.

  • The risk assessment company Verisk said last February that the value of losses resulting from the earthquake would likely exceed $20 billion.