Turkey
The Republic of
Turkey is a transcontinental country with its westernmost portion located in Europe and its easternmost part in Asia. It has an area of 297,146 square miles (769,604 sq km) and is home to an estimated population of 86,289,000 people as of 2023. The capital city is Ankara and the majority of its population are Turks, with Kurds being the largest minority group. Turkish is the official language, but Kurdish and Arabic are also spoken. The main religion is Islam (mostly Sunni).
Turkey is comprised largely of mountains, including Mount Ararat which stands at 16,945 feet (5,165 m) tall. The Taurus Mountains are located in the south, while rivers like the Tigris, Euphrates, Kızıl and Menderes flow through the country. Chromite is one of Turkey's major exports, and other important minerals mined here include iron ore, coal, lignite, bauxite, and copper. It is also the Middle East’s leading steel producer. Agriculture is also significant, with wheat, barley, olives, and tobacco as the primary crops. Tourism is also an important industry.
The government of Turkey is a multiparty republic with one legislative house, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The president is the head of state and the prime minister is the head of government.
The currency of Turkey is the Turkish lira and its exchange rate is 1 USD equals 18.819 TL. In terms of population, it ranks 18th in the world (2022), with an estimated 89,080,000 people by 2030. Its population density is 290.4 persons per square mile (2023) and 112.1 persons per square kilometer (2023). Urban populations comprise 75.1% (2018) with the remaining 24.9% living in rural areas (2018). Life expectancy at birth is 75.6 years for males (2016-2018) and 81 years for females (2016-2018), while literacy rates are 99% for men (2019) and 94% for women (2019). The Gross National Income (GNI) is 763,333 U.S. dollars (2020) and the GNI per capita is 9,050 U.S. dollars (2020).