Turkey's technoparks have been responsible for exports worth $4.1 billion as of July, since their establishment back in 2001, the Industry and Technology Ministry said yesterday.

In the last decades, the number of technoparks in Turkey has shot up to 84 across 56 provinces, from only two in 2001, according to Anadolu Agency (AA).

Technoparks gather entrepreneurs, researchers and academics under one roof in order to support the country's high-tech production.

Eleven technoparks are located in Istanbul, while the capital Ankara hosts nine. The industrial province of Kocaeli is home to five technoparks and the country's third-largest province, İzmir, has four.

Around 55,000 people – more than 80% being research and development (R&D) personnel – are employed by some 5,400 firms at the parks.

Over 32,000 projects have been completed so far at the technoparks, while there are currently 9,106 ongoing projects.

The majority – 41% – of firms at technoparks work in computer programming, while the rest are active in various fields, including natural sciences, biotechnology, manufacturing and energy.