Assessment of Turkey’s Innovation Performance during the European Union Candidacy Period

Turkey is one of the countries that has taken part in innovation assessments by the European Union since the start of the candidateship period. The main goal of this study is to present an overview of Turkey's long term innovation performance in comparison with the European Union. Within this framework an evaluation is conducted based on the indicators of European Innovation Scoreboard reports between 2003 and 2019. There includes a discussion of related strengths, weaknesses, and policies in progress as areas for improvement in Turkey. The main areas of strength, however, are related to SME capabilities, although further improvement is required regarding patent application and human resources.