FACTBOX - Snapshot of Turkey's economy

(Reuters) - Turkey's ruling AK Party celebrated a decisive victory in Sunday's parliamentary election, buoyed by popular approval of its handling of the economy.

Over the past five years, the economy has recovered from a deep financial crisis, notching up annual growth rates averaging more than seven percent while inflation has fallen sharply and foreign investment has poured in.

But opposition parties pointed to high unemployment and government debt and a huge current account deficit that leaves the economy vulnerable to external factors such as high oil prices, global liquidity conditions and political uncertainty.

Turkey successfully completed a standby accord with the International Monetary Fund for the first time in its history. Its current $10 billion loan accord will expire next year.

Turkey's steady economic improvement stalled in mid-2006 when emerging market fears and domestic political tensions knocked some 20 percent off the lira's value and forced the central bank to raise interest rates by 425 basis points.

The lira has recouped its losses since then but interest rates remain among the highest in the world as the central bank tries to tame inflation.

Here are some key statistics for the period from 2002, when the AK Party took power, and 2006:

INFLATION 2002 29.7 PCT 2006 9.65 PCT

GROSS NATIONAL PRODUCT 2002 $181 BLN 2006 $400 BLN