Turkey General Information

Official Name: Known officially as the Republic of Turkey, or commonly Turkey.

Capital city: Ankara, the Capital of Turkey, is the second largest city in the country after Istanbul, located centrally in Anatolia.

Location: Turkey is located in Southeastern Europe and Southwestern Asia bordering the Black Sea (between Bulgaria and Georgia), and bordering the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea (between Greece and Syria).

Size: The total land area of Turkey is 783,562 square kilometers and this ranks 44th globally. It is slightly larger than Texas in the USA.

Climate: The climate of Turkey varies across the diverse regions. Surrounded by sea on three sides, the diverse nature of the landscape, and the existence in particular of the mountains that run parallel to the coasts, result in significant differences in climatic conditions from one region to the other. The central regions demonstrate typical characteristics of a continental climate. The Aegean and Mediterranean coasts have cool, rainy winters and hot, moderately dry summers. The Black Sea coast receives the greatest amount of rainfall.

Population: Turkey has an estimated population of 76.8 million people and ranks 18th globally. There is a population growth rate of 1.312%.

Life expectancy at birth: The average life expectancy at birth for Turkey is 71.96 years, ranking at 122nd globally. Females have a longer average life span at 73.89 years, while Males average at 70.12 years from birth.

Prevalence of HIV/AIDS: The prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Turkey is approximately less than 0.1%, placing 159th globally. This means that around 76,800 people are living with the disease in the country.

Major Illnesses: Potential health risks in Turkey include Malaria, Cholera, Hepatitis A, Diphtheria, Typhoid, Dengue fever, Haemorrhagic Fever, Swine Flu and Bird Flu.

Ethnic Groups: Turkey is comprised of mainly Turkish at 70-75% of the population. Other ethnic groups include Kurdish at 18% and other minorities at 7-12%.

Languages: The official language in Turkey is Turkish and is spoken by about 90% of the population. Other languages include Kurdish and other minority languages at 10%.

Religion: The major religion in Turkey is Islam accounting for 99.8% of the population and other religions (mostly Christians and Jews) account for the remaining 0.2%.

Government: Turkey is a parliamentary representative democracy, which has a strong tradition of secularism. The President is the head of state but he plays largely a ceremonial role. The Prime Minister is usually the head of the party and is elected by the parliament through a vote of confidence in his government. Executive power is exercised by the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers while legislative power rests with the parliament. Members of parliament are elected for a five-year term through a proportional representation system from 85 electoral districts.

Head of State: The Head of State in Turkey is the President Abdullah Gül, who is elected for a five-year term by direct elections, renewable for once only.

Head of Government: The Head of Government in Turkey is the Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan who is elected by the parliament through a vote of confidence in his government.

Military: The Federal Armed Forces of Turkey are divided into three branches. Turkish Land Forces, Turkish Naval Forces (includes naval air and naval infantry) and Turkish Air Force. The suitable age for military service is 20 years old.

Economy: The economy of Turkey is mainly driven by the services sector, contributing about 60% to the national GDP. While tourism is the leading branch in this sector, other service industries include trading, banking, building and insurance. The manufacturing sector and the agricultural sector are the other two sectors making up the economy of Turkey, contributing 28% and 12% to the national GDP respectively. The agricultural sector employs about 33% of the population. Turkey is almost self-sufficient in agricultural products and is an important exporter of tobacco, tea, fig, grains, cotton, hazelnut, fruits and vegetables. The main activities in the manufacturing sectors are textiles, clothing, building materials and food-processing. Turkey is a country full of natural resources, with an abundance of Chromite copper mines, sulfur and coal. Turkey is also very rich in water resources. The country is open to international trade, an EU-Turkey free trade agreement came into effect in 1996.