Middle East and Europe

Turkey

Southeastern Europe and Southwestern Asia (that portion of Turkey west of the Bosporus is geographically part of Europe), bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Georgia, and bordering the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, between Greece and Syria.

Muslim population99.8%of the population

Population86.1 millionpeople (current)

CapitalAnkaraUTC+3

Currency32.81 = $1Turkish liras (TRY) (2024)

Country basics

Turkey is a republic across Southeast Europe and Western Asia, between the Black and Aegean seas.

Turkey is a republic with Ankara as its capital, Istanbul as its largest city and Turkish as its official language. The lira is the currency, and vehicles, machinery, textiles, steel and tourism make up most of its foreign earnings.

Official name

Republic of Türkiye

Region

Asia · Western Asia

Government

Unitary presidential republic

Time zonesCheck the offset for your own city

UTC+03:00

Driving side

Right

Phone code

+90

Currency

Turkish lira (TRY, ₺)

Member of

OECD; UN; G20; NATO

Website

https://www.turkiye.gov.tr

Faith and language

Religions

Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (mostly Christians and Jews)

Languages

Turkish

People and cities

Population

86.1 million (current)

Median ageHalf the population is younger than this

34.4 years (2025)

Living in cities

77.5% (2023)

Largest cities

Istanbul 15.848 million · Ankara (capital) 5.397 million · Izmir 3.088 million · Bursa 2.086 million · Adana 1.836 million

Money and cost of living

Exchange rateYearly average; check today’s rate before you budget

32.81 Turkish liras (TRY) per US dollar (2024)

Income per personGDP per person, adjusted for local prices (2021 dollars)

$35,300 (2024)

InflationHow much prices rose over the year

58.5% (2024)

Unemployment

8.5% (2024)

Spent on foodShare of an average household’s spending

22.8% (2023)

Health and daily life

Life expectancy

76.7 years (2024)

Doctors

2.24 per 1,000 people (2022)

Hospital beds

3 per 1,000 people (2020)

Safe drinking water

97% of people (2022)

Electricity

100% of people (2022)

Internet users

87% of people (2024)

Literacy

97.3% of adults (2021)

Land and climate

Climate

Temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior

SizeSlightly larger than Texas

783,562 sq km

Natural hazards

Severe earthquakes, especially in northern Turkey, along an arc extending from the Sea of Marmara to Lake Van; landslides; flooding volcanism: limited volcanic activity; the three historically active volcanoes (Ararat, Nemrut Dagi, and Tendurek Dagi) have not erupted since the 19th century or earlier

National holiday

Republic Day, 29 October (1923)