Introduction
Background
Modern Turkey was founded in 1923 from the 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 leadership, the country adopted radical social, legal, and political reforms. Turkey joined the UN in 1945 and in 1952 it became a member of NATO. In 1963, Turkey became an associate member of the European Community.
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
83,593,483 (2023 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
0.64% (2023 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; economic instability from 2016 attempted coup and 2018 currency recession; hit hard by COVID-19, increasing poverty and unemployment; endemic corruption; large agriculture labor force
Real GDP (purchasing power parity)
$2.668 trillion (2021 est.)
$2.396 trillion (2020 est.)
$2.35 trillion (2019 est.)
Real GDP per capita
$31,500 (2021 est.)
$28,500 (2020 est.)
$28,200 (2019 est.)
Agricultural products
milk, wheat, sugar beet, tomatoes, barley, maize, potatoes, grapes, watermelons, apples
Industries
textiles, food processing, automobiles, electronics, mining (coal, chromate, copper, boron), steel, petroleum, construction, lumber, paper
Remittances
0.09% of GDP (2021 est.)
0.11% of GDP (2020 est.)
0.11% of GDP (2019 est.)
Exports
$282.851 billion (2021 est.)
$203.816 billion (2020 est.)
$244.941 billion (2019 est.)
Exports - partners
Germany 9%, United Kingdom 6%, Iraq 5%, Italy 5%, United States 5% (2019)
Exports - commodities
cars and vehicle parts, refined petroleum, delivery trucks, jewelry, clothing and apparel (2019)
Imports
$285.578 billion (2021 est.)
$230.141 billion (2020 est.)
$227.638 billion (2019 est.)
Imports - partners
Germany 11%, China 9%, Russia 9%, United States 5%, Italy 5% (2019)
Imports - commodities
gold, refined petroleum, crude petroleum, vehicle parts, scrap iron (2019)
Exchange rates
Turkish liras (TRY) per US dollar -
Exchange rates:
8.85 (2021 est.)
7.009 (2020 est.)
5.674 (2019 est.)
4.828 (2018 est.)
3.648 (2017 est.)
Page last updated: Wednesday, December 13, 2023
