Turkey's Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan said the country's growth rate stood at 2.5 percent in 2012, local newspaper Today's Zaman reported Thursday.

Caglayan said the figure was lower than Ankara's earlier prediction of over 3 percent, adding that the economy needs to " step on the gas" in 2013.

The minister expected the growth rate of Turkey's economy to soar to 6 percent this year, which is much more optimistic than the prediction of a 4-percent growth rate by the International Monetary Fund.