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Turkey Country Guide
Explore Turkey in Asia
The topography includes high central plateau (Anatolia) with narrow coastal plain and several mountain ranges. The average density of population is approximately 92 per km². The notable climate conditions in Turkey can be described as temperate with hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters and harsher in interior. Possible natural disasters include severe earthquakes, especially in northern Turkey, along an arc extending from the Sea of Marmara to Lake Van.
To reach someone in Turkey dial +90 prior to a number. There are 16,534,000 installed telephones. And there are 62,780,000 registered mobile phones. The cellular networks commonly support frequencies of 900/1800 MHz. Websites registered in this country end with the top level domain ".tr". If you want to bring electric equipment on your trip (e.g. laptop power supply), note the local power outlet of 230V - 50Hz.
About the flag and history of Turkey
Red with a vertical white crescent moon (the closed portion is toward the hoist side) and white five-pointed star centered just outside the crescent opening; the flag colors and designs closely resemble those on the banner of Ottoman Empire, which preceded modern-day Turkey; the crescent moon and star serve as insignia for the Turks, as well as being traditional symbols of Islam; according to legend, the flag represents the reflection of the moon and a star in a pool of blood of Turkish warriors.
Modern Turkey was founded in 1923 from the Anatolian remnants of the defeated Ottoman Empire by national hero Mustafa KEMAL, who was later honored with the title Ataturk or "Father of the Turks." Under his authoritarian leadership, the country adopted wide-ranging social, legal, and political reforms. After a period of one-party rule, an experiment with multi-party politics led to the 1950 election victory of the opposition Democratic Party and the peaceful transfer of power. Since then, Turkish political parties have multiplied, but democracy has been fractured by periods of instability and intermittent military coups (1960, 1971, 1980), which in each case eventually resulted in a return of political power to civilians. In 1997, the military again helped engineer the ouster - popularly dubbed a "post-modern coup" - of the then Islamic-oriented government. Turkey intervened militarily on Cyprus in 1974 to prevent a Greek takeover of the island and has since acted as patron state to the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus," which only Turkey recognizes. A separatist insurgency begun in 1984 by the Kurdistan Workers'' Party (PKK) - now known as the Kurdistan People's Congress or Kongra-Gel (KGK) - has dominated the Turkish military''s attention and claimed more than 30,000 lives. After the capture of the group''s leader in 1999, the insurgents largely withdrew from Turkey mainly to northern Iraq. In 2004, KGK announced an end to its ceasefire and attacks attributed to the KGK increased. Turkey joined the UN in 1945 and in 1952 it became a member of NATO. In 1964, Turkey became an associate member of the European Community. Over the past decade, it has undertaken many reforms to strengthen its democracy and economy; it began accession membership talks with the European Union in 2005.
National administrative regions of Turkey
- Adana
- Adiyaman
- Afyonkarahisar
- Agri
- Aksaray
- Amasya
- Ankara
- Antalya
- Ardahan
- Artvin
- Aydin
- Balikesir
- Bartin
- Batman
- Bayburt
- Bilecik
- Bingoel
- Bitlis
- Bolu
- Burdur
- Bursa
- Canakkale
- Cankiri
- Corum
- Denizli
- Diyarbakir
- Duzce
- Edirne
- Elazig
- Erzincan
- Erzurum
- Eskisehir
- Gaziantep
- Giresun
- Gumushane
- Hakkari
- Hatay
- Igdir
- Isparta
- Istanbul
- Izmir
- Kahramanmaras
- Karabuk
- Karaman
- Kars
- Kastamonu
- Kayseri
- Kilis
- Kirikkale
- Kirklareli
- Kirsehir
- Kocaeli
- Konya
- Kuetahya
- Malatya
- Manisa
- Mardin
- Mersin
- Mugla
- Mus
- Nevsehir
- Nigde
- Ordu
- Osmaniye
- Rize
- Sakarya
- Samsun
- Sanliurfa
- Siirt
- Sinop
- Sirnak
- Sivas
- Tekirdag
- Tokat
- Trabzon
- Tunceli
- Turkey (general)
- Usak
- Van
- Yalova
- Yozgat
- Zonguldak
Geography Quick-Facts
| Summary | Continent: Asia Neighbours: Syria, Georgia, Iraq, Iran, Greece, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria Capital: Ankara |
| Size | 780,580 square kilometers (km² or sqkm) or 301,383 square miles (mi² or sqmi) slightly larger than Texas |
| Population | 71,892,000 |
| Currency | Name Lira, Currency Code:TRY |
| Country Top Level Domain (cTLD) | .tr |
| Telephone Country Prefix | +90 |
| Mobile Phone Connections | 62,780,000 |
| Landline Phone Connections | 16,534,000 |
Country Position in World Rankings
Information about single country attributes and how these compare against the rest of the world. The information below is compiled with data from 2013. As such, it may differ a bit to the Information above in the text (which is from 2010).
Geography
| Value name | Value | World Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 783,562 (sq km) | 37 |
People and Society
| Value name | Value | World Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 80,694,485 | 17 |
| Population growth rate | 1.16 (%) | 100 |
| Birth rate | 17.22 (births/1,000 population) | 109 |
| Death rate | 6.11 (deaths/1,000 population) | 160 |
| Net migration rate | 0.48 (migrant(s)/1,000 population) | 67 |
| Maternal mortality rate | 20.00 (deaths/100,000 live births) | 140 |
| Infant mortality rate | 22.23 (deaths/1,000 live births) | 84 |
| Life expectancy at birth | 73.03 (years) | 126 |
| Total fertility rate | 2.10 (children born/woman) | 110 |
| Health expenditures | 6.70 (% of GDP) | 93 |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate | 0.10 (%) | 111 |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | 4,600 | 120 |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths | 200 | 110 |
| Obesity - adult prevalence rate | 27.80 (%) | 36 |
| Children under the age of 5 years underweight | 3.50 (%) | 101 |
| Education expenditures | 2.90 (% of GDP) | 145 |
| Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 | 18.40 (%) | 68 |
Economy
| Value name | Value | World Rank |
|---|---|---|
| GDP (purchasing power parity) | 1,142,000,000,000 | 17 |
| GDP - real growth rate | 2.60 (%) | 119 |
| GDP - per capita (PPP) | 15,200 | 90 |
| Labor force | 27,110,000 | 23 |
| Unemployment rate | 9.00 (%) | 104 |
| Distribution of family income - Gini index | 40.20 | 58 |
| Investment (gross fixed) | 21.90 (% of GDP) | 73 |
| Taxes and other revenues | 22.60 (% of GDP) | 138 |
| Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-) | -2.60 (% of GDP) | 99 |
| Public debt | 40.40 (% of GDP) | 90 |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 9.10 (%) | 194 |
| Central bank discount rate | 15.00 (%) | 10 |
| Commercial bank prime lending rate | 17.00 (%) | 29 |
| Stock of narrow money | 83,290,000,000 | 39 |
| Stock of broad money | 386,500,000,000 | 27 |
| Stock of domestic credit | 520,900,000,000 | 26 |
| Market value of publicly traded shares | 306,700,000,000 | 28 |
| Industrial production growth rate | 9.20 (%) | 15 |
| Current account balance | -59,740,000,000 | 189 |
| Exports | 154,200,000,000 | 32 |
| Imports | 225,600,000,000 | 23 |
| Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | 93,380,000,000 | 25 |
| Debt - external | 336,900,000,000 | 32 |
| Stock of direct foreign investment - at home | 117,600,000,000 | 35 |
| Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad | 21,350,000,000 | 45 |
Energy
| Value name | Value | World Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Electricity - production | 201,200,000,000 (kWh) | 22 |
| Electricity - consumption | 155,200,000,000 (kWh) | 25 |
| Electricity - exports | 1,918,000,000 (kWh) | 41 |
| Electricity - imports | 1,144,000,000 (kWh) | 62 |
| Electricity - installed generating capacity | 44,760,000 (kW) | 20 |
| Electricity - from fossil fuels | 65.30 (% of total installed capacity) | 126 |
| Electricity - from hydroelectric plants | 32.50 (% of total installed capacity) | 68 |
| Electricity - from other renewable sources | 2.20 (% of total installed capacity) | 56 |
| Crude oil - production | 45,740 (bbl/day) | 61 |
| Crude oil - imports | 284,400 (bbl/day) | 26 |
| Crude oil - proved reserves | 270,400,000 (bbl) | 58 |
| Refined petroleum products - production | 343,400 (bbl/day) | 40 |
| Refined petroleum products - consumption | 706,100 (bbl/day) | 27 |
| Refined petroleum products - exports | 68,450 (bbl/day) | 51 |
| Refined petroleum products - imports | 297,400 (bbl/day) | 23 |
| Natural gas - production | 761,000,000 (cu m) | 68 |
| Natural gas - consumption | 44,710,000,000 (cu m) | 22 |
| Natural gas - exports | 713,000,000 (cu m) | 42 |
| Natural gas - imports | 43,900,000,000 (cu m) | 10 |
| Natural gas - proved reserves | 6,173,000,000 (cu m) | 85 |
| Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy | 263,500,000 (Mt) | 24 |
Communications
| Value name | Value | World Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Telephones - main lines in use | 15,211,000 | 18 |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 65,322,000 | 19 |
| Internet hosts | 7,093,000 | 16 |
| Internet users | 27,233,000 | 15 |
Transportation
| Value name | Value | World Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Airports | 98 | 61 |
| Railways | 8,699 (km) | 23 |
| Roadways | 352,046 (km) | 19 |
| Waterways | 1,200 (km) | 60 |
| Merchant marine | 629 | 18 |
Military
| Value name | Value | World Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Military expenditures | 5.30 (% of GDP) | 14 |
Data based on CIA facts book 2010 & 2013, wikipedia, national statistical offices and their census releases
List of current world heritage sites
| Name | Since |
|---|---|
| Archaeological Site of Troy Troy, with its 4,000 years of history, is one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world. The first excavations at the site were undertaken by the famous archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann in 1870. In scientific terms, its extensive remains ... | 1998 |
| Bursa and Cumalıkızık: the Birth of the Ottoman Empire This property is a serial nomination of eight component sites in the City of Bursa and the nearby village of Cumalıkızık, in the southern Marmara region. The site illustrates the creation of an urban and rural system establishing the Ottoman Empire i ... | 2014 |
| City of Safranbolu From the 13th century to the advent of the railway in the early 20th century, Safranbolu was an important caravan station on the main East–West trade route. The Old Mosque, Old Bath and Süleyman Pasha Medrese were built in 1322. During its apogee in ... | 1994 |
| Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia In a spectacular landscape, entirely sculpted by erosion, the Göreme valley and its surroundings contain rock-hewn sanctuaries that provide unique evidence of Byzantine art in the post-Iconoclastic period. Dwellings, troglodyte villages and undergrou ... | 1985 |
| Great Mosque and Hospital of Divriği This region of Anatolia was conquered by the Turks at the beginning of the 11th century. In 1228–29 Emir Ahmet Shah founded a mosque, with its adjoining hospital, at Divrigi. The mosque has a single prayer room and is crowned by two cupolas. The high ... | 1985 |
| Hattusha: the Hittite Capital The archaeological site of Hattusha, former capital of the Hittite Empire, is notable for its urban organization, the types of construction that have been preserved (temples, royal residences, fortifications), the rich ornamentation of the Lions' Gat ... | 1986 |
| Hierapolis-Pamukkale Deriving from springs in a cliff almost 200 m high overlooking the plain, calcite-laden waters have created at Pamukkale (Cotton Palace) an unreal landscape, made up of mineral forests, petrified waterfalls and a series of terraced basins. At the end ... | 1988 |
| Historic Areas of Istanbul With its strategic location on the Bosphorus peninsula between the Balkans and Anatolia, the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, Istanbul has been associated with major political, religious and artistic events for more than 2,000 years. Its masterpieces ... | 1985 |
| Nemrut Dağ The mausoleum of Antiochus I (69–34 B.C.), who reigned over Commagene, a kingdom founded north of Syria and the Euphrates after the breakup of Alexander's empire, is one of the most ambitious constructions of the Hellenistic period. The syncretism of ... | 1987 |
| Neolithic Site of Çatalhöyük Two hills form the 37 ha site on the Southern Anatolian Plateau. The taller eastern mound contains eighteen levels of Neolithic occupation between 7400 bc and 6200 bc, including wall paintings, reliefs, sculptures and other symbolic and artistic feat ... | 2012 |
| Pergamon and its Multi-Layered Cultural Landscape This site rises high above the Bakirçay Plain in Turkey’s Aegean region. The acropolis of Pergamon was the capital of the Hellenistic Attalid dynasty, a major centre of learning in the ancient world. Monumental temples, theatres, stoa or porticoes, g ... | 2014 |
| Selimiye Mosque and its Social Complex The square Mosque with its single great dome and four slender minarets, dominates the skyline of the former Ottoman capital of Edirne. Sinan, the most famous of Ottoman architects in the 16th century, considered the complex, which includes madrasas ( ... | 2011 |
| Xanthos-Letoon This site, which was the capital of Lycia, illustrates the blending of Lycian traditions and Hellenic influence, especially in its funerary art. The epigraphic inscriptions are crucial for our understanding of the history of the Lycian people and the ... | 1988 |