Introduction
Background
Modern Turkey was founded in 1923 from the remnants of the Ottoman Empire by reformer and national hero Mustafa KEMAL. Turkey joined the UN in 1945 and NATO in 1952, with EU accession talks beginning in 2005. Turkey shifted from a parliamentary to a presidential system in 2017.
Geography
Area
total: 783,562 sq km
land: 769,632 sq km
water: 13,930 sq km
Climate
temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior
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
People and Society
Population
total: 84,119,531
male: 42,247,430
female: 41,872,101 (2024 est.)
Ethnic groups
Turkish 70-75%, Kurdish 19%, other minorities 6-11% (2016 est.)
Languages
Turkish (official), Kurdish, other minority languages
Religions
Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (mostly Christians and Jews)
Population growth rate
0.61% (2024 est.)
Government
Government type
presidential republic
Capital
name: Ankara
Executive branch
chief of state: President Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN (chief of state since 28 August 2014; head of government since 9 July 2018); Vice President Cevdet YILMAZ (since 3 June 2023); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN (head of government since 9 July 2018; chief of state since 28 August 2014)
Legislative branch
description: unicameral Grand National Assembly of Turkey or Turkey Buyuk Millet Meclisi (600 seats); members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by closed party-list proportional representation vote, with a 10% threshold required to win a seat; members serve 5-year terms)
Economy
Economic overview
upper middle-income, diversified Middle Eastern economy; heightened inflation and currency depreciation triggered by expansionary monetary and fiscal policy ahead of 2023 elections, now being reversed; industrializing economy that maintains large agricultural base
Real GDP (purchasing power parity)
$2.817 trillion (2022 est.)
$2.669 trillion (2021 est.)
$2.395 trillion (2020 est.)
Real GDP per capita
$33,100 (2022 est.)
$31,700 (2021 est.)
$28,700 (2020 est.)
Agricultural products
milk, wheat, sugar beets, tomatoes, barley, maize, potatoes, apples, grapes, watermelons (2022)
Industries
textiles, food processing, automobiles, electronics, mining (coal, chromate, copper, boron), steel, petroleum, construction, lumber, paper
Exports
$343.688 billion (2022 est.)
$286.094 billion (2021 est.)
$206.621 billion (2020 est.)
Exports - partners
Germany 8%, US 7%, Iraq 5%, UK 5%, Italy 5% (2022)
Exports - commodities
garments, refined petroleum, cars, jewelry, plastic products (2022)
Imports
$383.5 billion (2022 est.)
$283.595 billion (2021 est.)
$230.136 billion (2020 est.)
Imports - partners
China 13%, Germany 9%, Russia 8%, US 5%, Italy 5% (2022)
Imports - commodities
gold, refined petroleum, plastics, scrap iron, cars (2022)
Exchange rates
Turkish liras (TRY) per US dollar -
Exchange rates:
16.549 (2022 est.)
8.85 (2021 est.)
7.009 (2020 est.)
5.674 (2019 est.)
4.828 (2018 est.)
Page last updated: Tuesday, May 07, 2024
