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Turkey
- What is Turkey?
- Where is Turkey located in the world?
- What are some traditional foods from Turkey?
- What is the historical significance of the city of Istanbul?
- What type of government does Turkey have?
- What are some major industries in Turkey's economy?
- What language do people in Turkey primarily speak?
- What are some common animals found in the natural habitats of Turkey?
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Turkey, also calledTürkiye,country that occupies a uniquegeographic position, lying partly inAsia and partly inEurope. Throughout its history it has acted as both a barrier and abridge between the twocontinents.
Turkey is situated at the crossroads of theBalkans,Caucasus,Middle East, and easternMediterranean. It is among the larger countries of the region in terms of territory and population, and its land area is greater than that of any European state. Nearly all of the country is in Asia,comprising the oblong peninsula of Asia Minor—also known asAnatolia (Anadolu)—and, in the east, part of a mountainous region sometimes known as theArmenian Highland. The remainder—TurkishThrace (Trakya)—lies in the extreme southeastern part of Europe, a tiny remnant of an empire that once extended over much of the Balkans.
- Head Of State And Government1:
- President:Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
- Capital:
- Ankara
- Population:
- (2024 est.) 86,797,000
- Currency Exchange Rate:
- 1 USD equals 42.201 Turkish lira
- Form Of Government:
- multiparty republic with one legislative house (Grand National Assembly of Turkey [6001])
- Official Language:
- Turkish
- Official Religion:
- none
- Official Name:
- Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (Republic of Turkey)
- Total Area (Sq Km):
- 769,604
- Total Area (Sq Mi):
- 297,144
- Monetary Unit:
- Turkish lira (TL)
- Population Rank:
- (2025) 17
- Population Projection 2030:
- 89,080,000
- Density: Persons Per Sq Mi:
- (2024) 310.9
- Density: Persons Per Sq Km:
- (2024) 112.8
- Urban-Rural Population:
- Urban: (2024) 77.9%
- Rural: (2024) 22.1%
- Life Expectancy At Birth:
- Male: (2021–2023) 74.7 years
- Female: (2021–2023) 80 years
- Gni (U.S.$ ’000,000):
- (2023) 1,000,796
- Gni Per Capita (U.S.$):
- (2023) 11,730
- Literacy: Percentage Of Population Age 6 And Over Literate:
- Male: (2023) 99.2%
- Female: (2023) 96%
- Amendments to the constitution passed in April 2017 and implemented in July 2018 expanded the Grand National Assembly from 550 to 600 seats, eliminated the post of prime minister, and expanded the role of the president.
The country has a north-south extent that ranges from about 300 to 400 miles (480 to 640 km), and it stretches about 1,000 miles from west to east. Turkey is bounded on the north by theBlack Sea, on the northeast byGeorgia andArmenia, on the east byAzerbaijan andIran, on the southeast byIraq andSyria, on the southwest and west by the Mediterranean Sea and theAegean Sea, and on the northwest byGreece andBulgaria. The capital isAnkara, and its largest city and seaport isIstanbul.
Of a total boundary length of some 4,000 miles (6,440 km), about three-fourths ismaritime, including coastlines along the Black Sea, the Aegean, and the Mediterranean, as well as the narrows that link the Black and Aegean seas. These narrows—which include theBosporus, theSea of Marmara, and theDardanelles—are known collectively as theTurkish straits;Turkey’s control of the straits, the only outlet from the Black Sea, has been a major factor in its relations with other states. Most of the islands along the Aegean coast are Greek; only the islands ofGökçeada and Bozcaada remain in Turkish hands. The maritime boundary with Greece has been a source of dispute between the two countries on numerous occasions sinceWorld War II.
A long succession of political entities existed in Asia Minor over the centuries. Turkmen tribes invaded Anatolia in the 11th centuryce, founding theSeljuq empire; during the 14th century the Ottoman Empire began a long expansion, reaching its peak during the 17th century. The modern Turkishrepublic, founded in 1923 after the collapse of theOttoman Empire, is a nationalist,secular,parliamentary democracy. After a period of one-party rule under its founder,Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk), and his successor, Turkish governments since the 1950s have been produced by multiparty elections based on universal adult suffrage.
Land
Relief
Turkey is a predominantly mountainous country, and true lowland is confined to the coastal fringes. About one-fourth of the surface has an elevation above 4,000 feet (1,200 meters), and less than two-fifths lies below 1,500 feet (460 meters). Mountain crests exceed 7,500 feet (2,300 meters) in many places, particularly in the east, where Turkey’s highest mountain,Mount Ararat (Ağrı), reaches 16,945 feet (5,165 meters) close to the borders with Armenia and Iran. In the southeast the Uludoruk Peak reaches 15,563 feet (4,744 meters); though further west, the Demirkazık Peak (12,320 feet [3,755 meters]) and Mount Aydos (11,414 feet [3,479 meters]) are also significant peaks. Steep slopes are common throughout the country, and flat or gently sloping land makes up barely one-sixth of the total area. These relief features affect other aspects of the physicalenvironment, producing climates often much harsher than might be expected for a country of Turkey’s latitude and reducing the availability and productivity of agricultural land. Structurally, the country lies within the geologically young folded-mountain zone ofEurasia, which in Turkey trends predominantly east to west. The geology of Turkey is complex, with sedimentary rocks ranging fromPaleozoic toQuaternary, numerous intrusions, and extensive areas of volcanic material. Four main regions can be identified: the northern folded zone, the southern folded zone, the central massif, and the Arabian platform.
The northern folded zone
The northern folded zonecomprises a series of mountain ridges, increasing in elevation toward the east, that occupy a belt about 90 to 125 miles (145 to 200 km) wide immediately south of the Black Sea. The system as a whole is referred to as thePontic Mountains (Doğukaradeniz Dağları). In the west the system has been fractured by the faulting that produced the Turkish straits; in Thrace the Ergene lowlands are among the largest in the country, and the main mountain range—theYıldız (Istranca)—reaches only 3,379 feet (1,030 meters). Lowlands also occur to the south of the Sea of Marmara and along the lower Sakarya River east of the Bosporus. High ridges trending east-west rise abruptly from the Black Sea coast, and the coastal plain is thus narrow, opening out only in thedeltas of theKızıl andYeşil rivers. These rivers break through the mountain barrier in a zone of weakness where summits are below 2,000 feet (600 meters), dividing the Pontic Mountains into western and eastern sections. In the western section, between theSakarya and Kızıl rivers, there are four main ridges: theKüre,Bolu,Ilgaz, andKöroğlu mountains. East of the Yeşil the system is higher, narrower, and steeper. Less than 50 miles from the coast, peaks rise to more than 10,000 feet (3,000 meters), with a maximum elevation of 12,917 feet (3,937 meters) in the Kaçkar range. Separated by the narrowtrough of the Kelkit and Çoruh river valleys stands a second ridge that rises above 8,000 feet (2,400 meters).
The southern folded zone
The southern folded zone occupies the southern third of the country, from the Aegean to the Gulf of Iskenderun, from which it extends to the northeast and east around the northern side of the Arabian platform. Over most of its length, the Mediterranean coastal plain is narrow, but there are two major lowland embayments. TheAntalya Plain extends inland some 20 miles (30 km) from the Gulf of Antalya; theAdana Plain, measuring roughly 90 by 60 miles (145 by 100 km), comprises the combined deltas of the Seyhan andCeyhan rivers. The mountain system falls into two main parts. West ofAntalya a complex series of ridges with a north-southtrend reaches 6,500 to 8,200 feet (2,000 to 2,500 meters), but the most prominent feature is the massiveTaurus (Toros) mountain system, running parallel to the Mediterranean coast and extending along the southern border. There crest lines are often above 8,000 feet (2,400 meters), and several peaks exceed 11,000 feet (3,400 meters).
In the eastern third of the country, the northern and southern fold systems converge to produce an extensive area of predominantly mountainous terrain, with pockets of relatively level land confined to valleys and enclosed basins, as are found aroundMalatya,Elazığ, andMuş.