Turkey | Facts & Information

Updated September 9, 2022 | Infoplease Staff
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Facts & Figures

  • President: Recep Tayyip Erdogan (2014)

    Prime Minister: Ahmet Davutoglu (2014)

    Land area: 297,591 sq mi (770,761 sq km); total area: 301,382 sq mi (780,580 sq km)

    Population (July 2014 est.): 81,619,392 (growth rate: 1.12%); birth rate: 16.86/1000; infant mortality rate: 21.43/1000; life expectancy: 73.29

    Capital (2011 est.): Ankara, 4.194 million

    Largest cities: Istanbul, 11.253 million; Izmir, 2.927 million; Bursa, 1.713 million; Adana, 1.468 million, Gaziantep 1.198 million.

    Monetary unit: Turkish lira (YTL)

    Republic of Turkey

    National name: Türkiye Cumhuriyeti

    Current government officials

    Languages: Turkish (official), Kurdish, other minority languages

    Ethnicity/race: Turkish 70-75%, Kurdish 18%, other minorities 7-12% (2008 est.)

    Religions: Islam (mostly Sunni) 99.8%, other 0.2% (mostly Christians and Jews)

    Literacy rate: 94.1% (2011 est.)

    Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2013 est.): $1.167 trillion; per capita $15,300. Real growth rate: 3.8%. Inflation: 7.6%. Unemployment: 9.3%. Arable land: 26.21%. Agriculture: tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar beets, hazelnuts, pulses, citrus; livestock. Labor force: 27.91 million (2013 est.); note: about 1.2 million Turks work abroad; agriculture 25.5%, industry 26.2%, services 48.4% (2010). Industries: textiles, food processing, autos, electronics, mining (coal, chromite, copper, boron), steel, petroleum, construction, lumber, paper. Natural resources: coal, iron ore, copper, chromium, antimony, mercury, gold, barite, borate, celestite (strontium), emery, feldspar, limestone, magnesite, marble, perlite, pumice, pyrites (sulfur), clay, arable land, hydropower. Exports: $167.6 billion (2013 est.): apparel, foodstuffs, textiles, metal manufactures, transport equipment. Imports: $242.9 billion (2013 est.): machinery, chemicals, semi-finished goods, fuels, transport equipment. Major trading partners: Germany, UK, Russia, U.S., Italy, France, Russia, China, Iraq, Iran, UAE (2012).

    Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 13.86 million (2012); mobile cellular: 67.68 million (2012). Broadcast media: national public broadcaster Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) operates multiple TV and radio networks and stations; multiple privately-owned national television stations and up to 300 private regional and local television stations; multi-channel cable TV subscriptions are obtainable; more than 1,000 private radio broadcast stations (2009). Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 7.093 million (2012). Internet users: 27.233 million (2009).

    Transportation: Railways: total: 12,008 km (2012). Highways: total: 385,748 km; paved: 352,268 km; unpaved: 33,486 km (2012). Waterways: about 1,200 km (2010). Ports and harbors: .Aliaga, Ambarli, Diliskelesi, Eregli, Izmir, Kocaeli (Izmit), Mersin (Icel), Limani, Yarimca Airports: 98 (2013).

    International disputes: complex maritime, air, and territorial disputes with Greece in the Aegean Sea; status of north Cyprus question remains; Syria and Iraq protest Turkish hydrological projects to control upper Euphrates waters; Turkey has expressed concern over the status of Kurds in Iraq; in 2009, Swiss mediators facilitated an accord reestablishing diplomatic ties between Armenia and Turkey, but neither side has ratified the agreement and the rapprochement effort has faltered; Turkish authorities have complained that blasting from quarries in Armenia might be damaging the medieval ruins of Ani, on the other side of the Arpacay valley.

    Major sources and definitions

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